Tides of Lightning
by FruitCup
Summary: "Persephone West isn't kind. She would be the first to admit it – she is selfish. Even as she looks up at Barry, who looks past her and into the eyes of Iris, she hopes that one day he will finally see her, just as he hopes Iris will one day see him." A love struggle for the ages.
1. Chapter 1

**As an introduction, I'd like to say that this story is going to be an exercise of continuity and consistency on my part. I'm going to try and update everyday, or every other day (I do work, so I can never guarantee free time). The chapters might be a little on the short side, but I will try my very best to always update. Hold me to that promise guys!**

Persephone West doesn't remember when exactly she fell in love with Barry Allen. It could have been a week ago, or maybe a few years ago, or maybe she fell in love the moment she met him. It doesn't matter though, because she knows she'll never have him.

She sees the way Barry looks at her sister. Iris West, in his eyes, represents the sun, moon and stars. She is his entire world, and he honestly doesn't try to hide his feelings for her. Iris, however, has always been oblivious to romantic attentions when they are directed at her, and Persephone doesn't think she will ever see a man's heart get broken as many times as Barry's does.

If she was kinder, she would tell her sister.

Iris has feelings for Barry, obviously. She buries them deep within her, but Persephone can read her twin like any book. She loves him – but consciously she hasn't accepted it yet. If Persephone was kinder, she could give her that push she needed to finally realize what is standing right in front of her.

But Persephone West isn't kind enough. She would be the first to admit it – she is selfish. Even as she looks up at Barry, who looks past her and into the eyes of Iris, she hopes that one day he will finally _see_ her, just as he hopes Iris will one day _see_ him.

She never said her life was easy.

 **As I warned, it is on the short side. But there will be a longer chapter to follow, and the wait won't be too long. Please leave a review? I love to know what my readers are thinking.**


	2. Chapter 2

**As promised, a new chapter. This is for the people like me who aren't going out tonight, because responsibilities. A virgin toast to us all!**

 **Anonymous review reply: Thanks for the review! I'll admit that I have a "secret" love for OC characters, especially twins/siblings. I wondered if I wanted to give Persephone a completely separate background (she wouldn't have been named Persephone in that case), but tbh I love Iris' look and I wanted to keep that, so voila, a twin. As for complications and difficult choices...well, we'll see, won't we? ;)**

 ***~*~ToL~*~**

Although Persephone moved out of her childhood home as soon as she graduated, she returns every Sunday night for family dinner and "Catch Up Time" as Joe aptly puts it. Despite Persephone's busy daily life, she almost never misses these dinners. Although she moved out because she needed to get away from all the tension she felt around the house, she misses her family terribly after short periods of time, and looks forward to these dinners (even though she pretends not to).

"Late, as usual!" she calls out to Barry as he rushes into the house, his jacket half off and a bundle of CSI files in one of his hands.

"Hello to you too, Persi," he retorts, a small smile on his face. Persephone twitches at Barry's nickname for her and sticks her tongue out childishly at her best friend.

Hearing the door slam close, Iris comes running out of the kitchen, a mixing bowl and a whisk in her arms. "Hi Barry! Welcome home!" She walks over to him and gives him a kiss on his cheek. "How was work?"

Blushing, Barry replies, "Yeah, it was alright. How are you?"

Beaming, Iris replies to him, but with a roll of her eyes, Persephone tunes the rest of their conversation out. For as long as she can remember, it's always been like this: Barry looks at her like she's just one of the guys, but whenever Iris walks into a room, the idiot stumbles and stutters around her. They look exactly the same, for crying out loud!

 _Well,_ Persephone thinks as she catches the eye of her reflection on the mirror across the room, eyeing her just above shoulder-length brown and auburn curls, her several ear piercings, and the spiraling tattoos across her arms, _not exactly…_

Joe calls for Iris to return to the kitchen with her wares, and Barry goes upstairs to get out of his work clothes (although he has an apartment of his own, he keeps a few set of clothes at Joe's for whenever he needs it). Persephone would be in the kitchen helping too, but it's only big enough for two people, so the twins trade off every week, while Barry and Joe cook based on who has the day off. Joe and Iris cook classic meals, while Barry and Persephone usually dabble with different sorts of cuisine and cooking methods. Between the two pairs and their switch-offs, no Sunday is ever boring in the West household.

Persephone is drawn out of her thoughts as Iris flits through the room, her arms full of food. Her sister has always managed to look so graceful, no matter what circumstance she is faced with. Persephone is not as naturally graced as her younger twin, but what she lacks in poise, she makes up for with athleticism.

For as long as she can remember, Persephone has been involved with some type of sport. Before she hit her teens, she was an avid soccer player. As a matter of fact, soccer was how she met Barry. Before boys and girls were split into two different teams, she and Barry had been on the same team. Their synergy as a midfielder-striker duo was practically legendary, and they had become fast friends after plenty of victory celebrations. That was how he and Iris – the young, beautiful ballerina – had met, and Barry had fallen the moment he saw his best friend's twin sister.

Soon after that, Persephone grew tired of soccer, especially after Barry quit (not that she blamed him; his mother was murdered and his father was in prison), and she joined the track team to occupy her young teenage mind. That didn't last too long however. Although it was just as challenging as soccer, she felt it was too stale and one-dimensional.

When she was fourteen, she tried out for her high school's swim team, and never looked back. The water was where she belonged, and she was an idiot for not realizing it sooner. She could lose herself for hours on end, swimming constantly, the sharp smell of chlorine sticking to her skin and hair for days afterwards. Joe always complained that she would get sick from all her swimming adventures (especially the late night ones that they thought only Barry knew about), but Persephone was never affected by the water. She had always been able to hold her breath for extremely long periods under water, her skin never seemed to get pruned like she saw others' become, and temperature of water never seemed to bother her. She found that particular fact out after a dare from Barry to jump into the C.C. Lake in under zero conditions.

 _"_ _You know,"_ _the lanky sixteen-year old said blandly as he watched his best friend shuck off her winter jacket, "I was mostly kidding when I told you to jump into C.C. when it's freezing cold."_

 _Throwing her head forward, she caught most of her chaotic curls into a lopsided ponytail. "Mostly kidding? I doubt that. You don't_ _ **mostly**_ _kid, Barry," she replied, balancing perfectly on her left foot as she took her right boot off._

 _Barry scowled, and tried once more to convince her, "You're going to get sick, Persi! And Joe always finds out when you've been up to no good, you're going to get grounded, again!"_

 _"_ _You mean when he finds out that_ _ **we've**_ _been up to no good? Better keep your mouth shut then, Allen." She stuck her tongue out at him as she pulled her pants down, leaving her only in her boy-shorts underwear and tank top._

 _Living with her, Barry had seen her in less, but that didn't stop the blush from rising to his cheeks as he eyed her toned body. Catching his eye, Persephone laughed and threw her shirt at him, scolding, "Don't eye-rape me, pervert." With that, she took a running leap off the pier and into the freezing depths of C.C. Lake._

Barry had been amazing when she came out of the water, not shivering or bothered by the water at all and even more so when she didn't get sick during the night. After the first night, Persephone was able to convince him several times to go out on late-night swimming adventures with her.

The older West twin takes her seat next to her younger sister, who is seated opposite Barry and adjacent to their father, who takes his seat as the head of the table after placing his pan of seafood casserole down on the small yet homey dining table.

"My favorite!" Barry exclaims as he immediately reaches over to grab the ladle.

Iris smiles fondly at her best friend, and Persephone rolls her eyes again.

Yup, just another Sunday evening with the West household.

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

 **A look into the dynamic that they West twins and Mr. Allen find themselves in. A bit cliche, isn't it? Ah well, sometimes we all need a little cliche in our lives.**

 **Please leave a review! Let me know what you're thinking (even if it isn't about the story).**


	3. Chapter 3

**It has not quite been a day (24 hours yet), and I'll admit to being a little (just a teensie bit) impatient to publish more. I doubt anyone will have any serious complaints about that, however.**

 **To my "Amazed" anonymous reviewer: Thank you for reviewing once again! Also, you are quite welcome for the toast :). Iris' character is one that I've never been too sure how I feel about, to be honest. There are times that she is too overbearing and too entitled, but there are times that she is just the greatest, most kick-ass female, and I don't know how to feel about that. I suppose, however, that all characters come with flaws, and Candice does a fantastic job of giving Iris both highs and lows. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me (or as safe as it can be on a public page of the internet). That sounds like a very interesting turn of events, but I'm glad to hear it was an enjoyable read. Felicity is a character that I fear writing, when I get that far into the story, because she is just so...perfect. Is it wrong of me to give her such a hefty label? She is such a sweetheart, and I'm so...not, haha. Nevertheless, I will channel my inner sweetheart and make Felicity (as well as you, dear reader) proud. I think you will start to see differences between the two very quickly, because as I picture them, they are two completely separate beings with completely different interests that make up one whole. The twin bond will not be a prominent feature of this story, but it will be important during some situations. Also, do not worry. There will be angst. There will be tears. There will most definitely be confusion and troubling times ahead for our protagonists. Okay, this review reply was much longer than I wanted it to be (whoops, I got carried away), and now I shall bid you adieu. Onto the story, shall we?**

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

"Excited?" Persephone asks as she climbs into the driver's seat of her car.

"Hm?" Barry replies distractedly as he wrestles with his seatbelt in the passenger seat.

She turns to glance at him as she shuts her door, and scoffs at the pathetic scene. "Must I do everything for you, Allen?" she murmurs softly, reaching over and pulling the seatbelt across his chest for him.

Barry rubs the back of his neck sheepishly and watches her hands works as the seatbelt clicks shut at his side. "Sorry," he responds, his cheeks slightly pink, "I guess I'm just distracted."

"I bet you are," Persephone mutters to herself, fastening her seatbelt and keying in her engine. "Anyway, as I was saying, are you excited? The accelerator is turning on in a week!"

Barry lights up at the thought, and says excitedly, "Of course I am! This is going to change _everything_ about physics! Imagine everything we're going to learn!"

Persephone smiles, and lets Barry ramble on about the technological advancements they would be able to achieve with the particle accelerator. This is her favorite Barry: the one who loses himself so willingly in whatever he's doing that he just seems to _vibrate_ with energy and excitement.

It also has the added benefit of pushing Iris out of his mind, at least for now.

Barry is almost finished with his spiel as she pulls up to the sidewalk of his apartment complex.

"Thanks for the ride, Persi," he says, giving her a wide smile.

She hopes the swooning she's feeling doesn't show on her face. "Get a car, you lazy bum," she replies with fake grumpiness, and tries to shove him out of the car.

Barry laughs at her antics, and blows her a kiss as he steps out of the door.

Persephone classily replies with a middle finger.

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

 **Our Persi is one classy gal, isn't she?**

 **Things are a little slow now, but fear not dearies; we shall be fast forwarding a week or so with the next chapter, and with that, we will be breaching the territory of "canon". Series premiere, to be exact. Exciting, is it not? What interesting situations shall we be putting our playthings through? Leave a review, and give me some of your ideas (although, to be clear, I have my own. I'm just curious to see what my readers would like to see).**


	4. Chapter 4

**Another day, another dollar. Or in this case, another day, another chapter. I have't had a lot of reviews, but I have had plenty of favs/follows, so thank you**

 **Amazed: Thanks for another review! I have to agree with you on how absolutely bad-ass comic!Iris is. I think she's the original reason that the Flash became my favorite superhero/comic series. I forgot all about that, to be honest. I'm a bad fan! ):**

 **As for Persi and her thoughts on her unrequited love, I'm sort of mirroring it to Barry's thoughts on how Iris will never return his feelings, no matter how hard either of them tries. Barry's feelings towards Persephone are mirrored to Iris' feelings for him, they do love them, they just don't realize it quite yet. Honestly, it's going to be one explosive chain-reaction when one of the two realizes their feelings, and I can't wait for that to happen. Are you kidding, Bruce has enough angst to fill 10 Milky Ways. You're just fine as Bruce (:**

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

The week goes by faster than Persephone really expects it to. Working at a gym can certainly get interesting, but is not always exciting, so the days tend to drag sometimes. She doesn't mind too much though; there are several co-workers and friends around her that never fail to entertain her.

Kelsey Bridges is one of those co-workers. Short, perky and blonde, she never fails to light up a room when she walks into it. Initially, Persephone couldn't tolerate her perkiness, but the caramel-skinned woman has grown to love Kelsey and all of her sunshine.

"Why are you still here, Perse?" Kelsey asks as she sticks her head between the crack of Persephone's ajar office door. "It's six-thirty, aren't you meeting your cute nerd friend for the particle-thingy turning on?"

Running a tattooed hand through her curls, Persephone sighs and responds despondently to the blonde, "He told me not to come. Says he wants to talk to Iris privately, and this is the best place to do it."

The blonde makes a shocked noise and pushes the door further open, " _What?_ And you just agreed? Don't let that hussy slut take your one true love away from you!"

Persephone flings a tennis ball at her co-worker. "My sister is _not_ a hussy slut!" she hisses with no real threat in her voice.

"She is when she's stealing a man that's obviously supposed to be yours," Kelsey mutters within earshot, easily catching the ball. "I mean come on! You've been pining over this boy for literally _your entire life_. How hasn't anyone noticed yet?"

Wearily, she responds, "I don't know, Kelsey. To be honest, I try not to think about it too much. It's frustrating enough that I can't say anything –"

"You _can't_ or you _won't_ say anything, Perse? Let's be honest here."

A scowl slips on her face, but she doesn't look at the blonde. "Barry deserves happiness, and so does Iris –"

"At the expense of your own? Girl, you need either step up and let him know, or forget him and move on. Find your happiness somewhere else, 'cause goodness know you ain't gonna find it with him."

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

 **It's a little short, I know, but it is what it is. It's going to get good next chapter, I promise! I have to apologize for the (almost) late chapter and my slight disjointedness. I'm a little out of sorts because I got into a huge argument with my boyfriend, and well...needless to say, we've parted ways. It wasn't pretty. I said things I've never said before and I'm not proud of the fact that I don't regret saying these things. I sort of feel like someone took over my body and said all these terrible things, and I just let them.**

 **Anyway, enough moping. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Leave a review, let me know how things are going in your life!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Happy Sunday! At least, I hope yours is better than mine. I spent mine working and moping, given I'm now single and it was mostly my own fault. I'm glad I've written several chapters ahead, because I'd be inclined to pour angst out into this story, and we're not quite at that point yet. Things are just starting to get exciting :D**

 **Once again, thanks for all the love (reviews, follows and favorites). I had a particular review (ty AmyRoxx123) that I privately replied to, but she brought up an interesting point: will Persephone be a meta-human? I might as well just come out to you all and say, "Hell yeah she will be." It's more or less impactful than you'd think: it's less impactful because this isn't a story where the OC wins Barry's heart (if she does at all) strictly because she has superhuman abilities. However, it's more impactful because it changes her relationship with other key characters in the story. I'm sorry if my decision to make her a meta-human disappoints some of you, but it isn't subject to change.**

 **Onwards!**

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

Only a few hours later, Persephone is pondering Kelsey's parting words as she does slow, casual backstroke laps in the private C.C. Fitness rooftop pool. Her eyes are drawn to the starless sky, still and peaceful. The complete opposite of what she is feeling on the inside at the moment.

She wonders if it is time to let go of Barry. It is difficult to fathom a day, much more so a _life_ where she does not obsess about Barry. He and her feelings for him have always been a constant in her life. The same goes for Joe and Iris. It is simply her way of life: love her father, love her sister, love her best friend.

How can she possibly let go of that love?

She pauses from backstrokes, and simply begins to float in the crystal blue water. She needs a change, she has decided, idly pushing herself off the wall. She needs a huge change to jumpstart her mission to abandon her quest to claim Barry as hers. Maybe a new tattoo will give her some courage…

A muted boom goes off in the distance, and she jerks her head out of the water. What was that? Out of the corner of her eyes, she sees a bright flash of light, and she hears thunder begin to rumble. She frowns, the weather in Central City has been clear for weeks, and there hasn't been a report of an incoming storm.

Inwardly sighing, she supposes it's time for her to go home anyway. Her first thought as she lifts herself out of the pool is to text Barry, to see how the accelerator event is coming along, but before she can dismiss it out of her mind, a sudden wave of heat and light hits her head-on and she doesn't have time to gasp in pain before she is forced off her feet, into the air and back into the water she just exited. Above her, it begins to rain as she weakly reaches out to grab the metal stair railing in the pool. A strike of lightning crashes down, hitting the metal stairs just as her fingertips brush the edge of the railing. The conductive metal sends shock after shock of electricity from the lightning into the water, and into Persephone's body.

Although her body continues to twitch from the electric current running through the water and into her, Persephone is unconscious before the streak of lightning completely disappears.

*~*~ToL~*~*

While she sleeps, Persephone has odd dreams. She dreams of beaches, and riding huge waves of water under the scorching sunlight. She dreams of floating in the rooftop pool serenely, and she lets go of her body and melds into the water around her. She becomes a part of the water so easily; she can't distinguish where it ends and she begins. She loses herself, and sometimes she forgets who she is exactly, but there is always a voice that brings her back.

 _"_ _I need you Persi. Dad is shutting down, and Barry is gone –"_ the voice chokes back a sob, and a hand that she didn't realize she had is being gripped tightly. _"I can't lose you too! You need to wake up, Persephone. Wake up right_ _ **now**_."

Persephone's eyes snap open. Although it is dark in the room she is in, the steady beeping she hears and the uncomfortable bed clues her into the fact that she is in a hospital. She tries to shift her head, but her neck is uncomfortably stiff and refuses to cooperate with her request. She frowns, and tries to find a more comfortable position to rest in. Her skin feels too tight and restricting on her body, however, and she whimpers in discomfort.

She spends a few more minutes tossing minutely in the small bed, before giving up and sighing inwardly. She closes her eyes, wishing she could be anywhere but where she was right this moment. Like in a pool somewhere, casually floating along with the current. She imagines her fingers swaying softly in the water, and her hair fanning out underneath her like tendrils. Slowly, she feels her skin seem to get more comfortable, and her body isn't in the hospital bed anymore.

Persephone drifts off to sleep once more, and there is no one around to notice how her skin changes, becoming as translucent and reflective as the water she dreams of.

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

 **So...I kind of cheated. This is actually two chapters that I combined into one, to make longer. I doubt you guys will have any complaints though, since both chapters were fairly short and combining them actually makes a (for once) decently sized chapter. I hope you guys enjoy! Leave a review and tell me how your weekend was, and cheer me up from all this real life drama.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Happy Monday! I hope the beginning of the week is treating everyone well.**

 **Thanks for all the love, as always.**

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

It feels as if only a few minutes have passed when Persephone opens her eyes once more, but the light streaming in through her bedside window informs her that she is mistaken. She exhales loudly, pushing herself up to take a look around the room.

It's bare, like most hospital rooms tend to be, but on her bedside table are numerous gifts. She gapes at the flowers and cards that surround her, and pushes herself up some more to take a closer look at her acquisitions. Quick glances at the cards showed that most of them were from her coworkers and frequent members of the gym. The flowers are all beautiful, of course, but a small bouquet of middlemist reds. Gasping, she pushes away the other vases to reach for the small, but incredibly beautiful bouquet. Not only are they her absolute favorite flower, middlemists are a very rare thing, and even a bouquet this small (she counts half a dozen flowers) would have cost the buyer a fortune. Who in the world…?

Caramel fingers search carefully for a card within the stems, huffing victoriously as they curl around a thin piece of paper. She pulls it out of the vase, fully expecting to see her twin's loopy cursive, her father's print, Barry's messy scrawl. Possibly all three, fighting for space on such a tiny card. Snickering at her imagination, she flips the folded card open, and stares down in confusion.

 _"_ _Wake up soon. I do not like to be kept waiting." – Thawne._

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

 **Ooohh, what an interesting turn of events. What could this mean? Leave me a nice review and (maybe) I'll tell you ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Oh my, would you believe it's already Tuesday? The days seem to just fly by when you don't pay attention to them. How's everyone doing today?**

 **I certainly got a lot of love today! Thanks for all the favorites, follows and reviews people. You make my day each time.**

 **Amazed: Welcome back! I was worried when a few chapters went by and I hadn't heard from you, but I'm glad to hear you're alright. Thanks a lot for your advice; it means so much to me. I'm actually feeling a lot better, and I'm in a better spot than I was a few days ago. Now, story-wise...don't worry about Joe or Barry, Iris is just a little more over-dramatic than her sister. Barry's gone refers to him being in a coma as well (except he's in Star Labs, so Iris never gets to visit him like she does Persi) and Joe is shutting down because two out of three of his children have been put into comas because of this freak accident, and to make matters worse, one of them is in the hands of the person responsible for the accident in the first place. He feels helpless, and that's not something Joe is used to feeling. Persi is going to be such a bad-ass meta-human, I really can't wait for her to discover and explore her power's potential. Thawne...well, this Thawne mystery will be around, but it won't get resolved for a little while longer. It's just a little snippet of what craziness I have in store for the gang, and depending on who you are, it ain't gonna be pretty. So hang tight!**

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

Persephone West endures the bone cracking hug she receives from her sister later on with no complaint. Although she is unsure of how long she has actually been unconscious, spending too much time away from Iris makes her feel empty, as if she is missing something vital to her very existence. Although they have never spoken about it, she can rightly assume that Iris feels the same way.

"About time, you lazy bum!" Iris' voice cries from above her head. "You can't sleep the entire year away, you know?"

 _The entire year…?_ Persephone's eyes widen, but she doesn't let go of her sniffling twin until she feels her squirming away.

"I'm only slightly exaggerating," the younger twin clarifies as she sees the panic in her sister's eyes. "It hasn't been a year. It's been closer to half a year, actually."

"That's still a really long time!" Persephone exclaims, absolutely horrified. The longest she and her sister have ever been parted was for two weeks, when she went to a swimming tournament in Chelsea. The moment she was back in Central City, she and Iris spent the rest of the day attached to the hip, and spent the rest of the week taking turns sleeping in each other's beds. Barry had teased them mercilessly for months about it, Persephone recalls.

To be apart from each other for six months…she takes a good look at her sister. On the surface, she seems to be faring fairly well, but Persephone catches the well-hidden bags underneath her eyes, and the slight frizz on Iris' usually perfect hair.

"I'm okay," the younger twin reassures her sister. "I've been…coping."

Persephone doesn't miss her hesitation, and she snorts quietly. Slowly shifting her body to the side, she makes just enough room for Iris to lie beside her and pulls up her blanket as an invitation.

Iris does not hesitate to scurry into the tiny and uncomfortable bed with her older sister. All the tension she has been holding seems to dissipate from her body, and she feels better than she ever did since the particle accelerator failed.

They fall asleep spooning together, and that is how Joe West finds his daughters. He resists the urge to tear up, and instead takes a picture of the touching moment.

It will make for good blackmail later.

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

 **Aw, this was so sweet to write. I don't have an actual older sister (I was raised only by my mother, although I knew my father and I knew he had children with other women, though I don't truly consider them family), so I merely tried to go off what I would imagine a older-younger sister dynamic to feel like, and I think I wrote it quite well.**

 **In other news, Persephone is finally awake! Well, it didn't seem like too long for us, but the characters have been waiting for what seems like ETERNITY for her to wake up and resume her story. And she won't disappoint them, or you, my dear readers.**

 **Leave a review! What's the first thing you think she's going to do when she gets out of that hospital?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Happy Wednesday! How's everyone doing today? I had to deal with annoying, overbearing coworkers and a hell of a lunch rush. Frankly, I'm exhausted, but before I go mindlessly stare at a computer screen (oh, the irony), it's my solemn duty to provide the daily ToL chapter. So here I am!**

 **Once again, thank you so much for all the love. These reviews, follows and favorites just make me feel so special :3**

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

After Persephone is given a clean bill of health, she is released from the hospital with warnings to stay away from metals and electricity from her doctor. She barely resists the urge to flip the bird back in reply, and instead, settles on pretending she didn't hear the bad joke.

"I don't need a freaking wheelchair," the frizzy-haired girl muttered, wincing as she caught a glance of her reflection as her father wheeled her out of the hospital. Without constant care, her hair had fallen back into its natural pattern of chaotic, unbearable curls that seemed to defy gravity. The circumference of her head had gone from about six inches to a foot and a half wide.

Iris caught her disgusted look and laughed, pulling one of the curls and watching as it bounced back into place, the other curls swaying together at the movement. "I sort of like it like this, Persi," she declared, pulling on another curl. "You've always pulled off our natural hair better than I ever could."

"That doesn't make any sense," the older sister grumbled good-naturedly, "We look exactly the same. If something looks terrible on you, it'll look just as bad on me."

Joe interrupted their age-old argument before either sister could really get into it. "You've been in a coma for six months, Persephone. Your muscles aren't exactly ready for everyday activities. A week or two of physical therapy, and you'll be good," he explained, pausing as they stood in front of his car.

"My muscles feel great!" As if to prove her point, she kicked up her left leg, almost kicking Iris in the shin, to which she got a nasty look for her troubles. She chuckled, and turned her head to the side, expecting to see…

"Hey," the smile slid off her face and her eyebrows furrowing as she realized someone was missing, "Where's Barry?"

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

 **Ugh, guys, I'm so hungry. I smell food...I think I'll go put myself in a food coma and go cuddle with a cat. Speaking of, which of my readers are cat people, and which of you are dog people? Leave me a review and tell me about your pet preferences!**


	9. Chapter 9

**What is this nonsense? We're already on chapter nine? Where did the week go?**

 **Haha, just kidding guys. Sometimes I just forget what day it is and they all start to blend in with each other. I'm sure I'm not the only one this happens to though. How's everyone's Thursday been? Mine has been soo exhausting, worse than yesterday, but here I am once more!**

 **As always, thanks for the love guys. All these follows and favorites and reviews! You're all too kind.**

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

Persephone's temporary wheelchair is parked next to Barry's bedside, and she watches his figure, completely still aside from the rise and fall of his chest. Her face is etched with the worry she feels inside, and her hand is clutching his cool one desperately.

"I don't understand," she murmurs, "how did this happen? What happened that night?"

Iris and Joe glance at each other. As soon as they had told Persephone that Barry was also in a coma, the older West twin refused to go home until she saw her best friend. By the time they reached S.T.A.R. Labs, Persi was beside herself with worry, imagining all the situations that could have Barry could have gotten himself into to land himself into a coma.

In her frantic worry, it seemed to have slipped her mind that she herself just woke up from a coma.

"We don't know, exactly," Iris answers honestly. "All we know is that he was hit by lightning, but aside from that we don't know how it happened. It was just a freak accident, just like yours."

Persephone's eyes flash in anger, "None of this would have happened if that particle accelerator hadn't been turned on –"

"Whoa whoa there," Francisco Ramon, who stands in the background to give the small family some privacy, finally speaks up, "No need to point fingers alright? We know what happened was awful, and we're terribly sorry, but we're trying our best to fix our mistakes." Dr. Caitlyn Snow, who holds a patient file in her hands as she does her routine check-up on Barry, nods apologetically.

Persephone bites her lip, ashamed of her outburst. "I'm sorry," she concedes, "I just…it's so hard, seeing him just lying here, almost lifeless…he's always so full of life! Even when…" She trails off, clutching at his hand tighter, not at all bothered by the cold clamminess of his skin.

 _"_ _Even when he had nothing to live for,"_ she thinks to herself.

Caitlyn reaches forward earnestly, reassuring as best as she can. "We're doing everything we can to get him out of this coma, I promise you. You'll see him full of life soon enough."

The wheelchair-bound twin smiles in thanks for Caitlyn's comfort and leans forward to place a kiss on Barry's cheek. "Better wake up soon Allen," she whispers as her lips linger on his unshaven cheek. "I already miss you."

With that, the West family (minus one) bid Cisco and Caitlyn adieu and head home to get some rest after an exciting day. Persephone thanks the duo once more for taking care of her best friend, and is wheeled out of the facility.

As they leave, the building, another wheelchair, more technologically advanced than the former, rolls out of the shadows and comes to a stop right beside Cisco. Harrison Wells' gaze is sharp, watching the retreating family.

"Well," Cisco laughs nervously, "good to know they're all a bunch of spitfires, huh?"

He trails off awkwardly as neither of his coworkers respond audibly. Caitlyn deems his comment worthy of nothing more than an eye-roll, and Harrison's eyes remain glued to the West's backs.

 _"_ _Finally,"_ he thinks, his eyes glinting victoriously, although his face remains impassive, _"Finally I can have you all to myself."_

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

 **Oooo, Dr. Wells/Dr. Thawne, who do you have your eye on? Ah, I'm sure it's pretty obvious to you guys, so I won't tease you too much.**

 **I got a PM from AmyRoxx about checking out some of her fics, and it made me feel like such a terrible "active" author! Guys, please, if you want me to read something of yours, or something you've been reading that you really like, please let me know! As long I'm familiar to the canon world, I'll give it a shot.**


	10. Chapter 10

**We're in the double digits people! Whoooot! Thanks y'all for sticking by me and for your words of praise and encouragement. It means so much to this lowly authorette :)**

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

Persephone's recovery is much slower than she expects it to be. Because of her temporary disability, she stays with her father and sister in her childhood home, something she hasn't done for a very long time. Initially, she thinks it'll be extremely awkward, being in her teenage room once more (the cringe-inducing boy band posters and paraphernalia, oh god), but it actually turns out to be very soothing, in a way she didn't think possible. As she lies in her old twin bed, staring at her large, life-sized poster of Superman, she feels a strange sort of peace overcome her.

Ever since she left her childhood home, she has never really given a thought to how much things have changed for her. She is an independent woman now, far from the unsure, unconfident teen she used to be. Being here now gives her the chance to reconcile with herself, past, present and future. Before, she had never really acted upon her feelings for Barry. But now, seeing him lying at S.T.A.R. Labs, thinking that she may never have another chance to tell him how she's truly – _always_ – felt about him…that scares her more than anything else.

And so Persephone West finally decides to tell Barry Allen how she truly feels about him. Whatever happens after that, will happen.

Persephone is "cured" from her "disability" in less than a week. The hospital-supplied physical therapist, in awe, tells her that it should have taken her a much longer time for her muscles to return to their normal state, but in some miraculous turn of events, it seemed as though her muscles were never in atrophy to begin with. At that news, Persi turns to her father and sends him a victorious smirk, standing up from the wheelchair and giving it a small kick. Joe rolls his eyes at her childishness, but concedes that she's free to go home.

With a quick call to Kelsey (who spends the first ten minutes squealing her excitement of having Persephone up and about), Persi is ready to do just that. She decides to take a shower first, however, because her body seems to be just craving water and knowing Kelsey, several pictures will be taken before Persephone steps at her front door. She has to look at least slightly presentable for the social media avalanche that's going to begin when everyone finds out she's out of her coma.

As she waits for the water to warm up, Persephone busies herself by struggling to put her abundant curls into some sort of ponytail. After a few minutes of futile aggression against her curls, she gives up and slips into the shower, relishing the steaming hot water cascading down her back. Her impossible hair grows laden with the water it catches, and she feels tendrils of curls tickle her shoulder blades as they hang low behind her.

Sighing in contentment, the older West twin begins to hum softly and sway slowly, losing herself underneath the showerhead. Her fingers go from roaming with a purpose, to roaming aimlessly, following trails of water as they flow down her body. Persephone is at her ultimate peak of relaxation, and she doesn't want to leave the shower for any reason at all.

Water begins to pass through her skin, but Persephone doesn't notice. Her translucent skin begins to steam in response to the heat, but she doesn't notice. As she steps out of the shower and begins to towel down her body, puddles of water are left at her feet and but she still doesn't notice.

Before she leaves the bathroom, Persephone West takes a look at her reflection in their large anti-fog mirror, and a blue-eyed, blue skinned alien stares back at her. Her skin shines like a pool, and when she moves, her aqueous body ripples with her.

For a long moment, Persephone stares at her reflection. And then she begins to scream.

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

 **What a cliffhanger! I'm kind of evil, aren't I? *evil laugh* suffer readers! Suffer!**

 **But actually don't, I really love you guys, I'd be sad if I put you through any sort of pain.**

 **See you tomorrow for another (maybe cliffhanger-filled?) chapter! Please leave your thoughts of love (and contempt, I'll take those too).**


	11. Chapter 11

**Evenin' all! How was your Saturday? Mine was busy. Busy as all hell. But here I am!**

 **Once again, thanks for the all the love. You guys are the best!**

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

"Guys, I swear I'm fine," Persephone tries once again to reassure her overbearing, over-protective father and sister. "I think it was a spider or something, I don't know."

"A spider? Since when have you been scared of bugs, Persephone?" Joe asks disbelievingly. Even as a child, Persephone was the kind of girl to let bugs crawl on her fingers than scream and kill them.

"I wasn't scared!" she defends herself as nonchalantly as she can in her panicked state, "It came out of nowhere and startled me. That's all guys, I swear."

Joe snorts, "Have you forgotten I'm a cop? That wasn't a scream of surprise, Persephone. That was –"

"Dad!" Persi snaps, wanting her interrogation to be over with. "I said it was nothing, okay? Leave it, please?"

Tense silence fills the room. Joe hasn't been snapped at by Persephone for a very long time. He remembers a time when father and daughter were arguing daily, because they didn't see eye-to-eye about anything and everything. While Iris had inherited her mother's gentleness and kindness, Persephone inherited her father's unwillingness to burden anyone, as well as his sharp tongue. They bashed heads constantly in her late teens, as she struggled with accepting herself for who she was, so for her to snap at him now…

Persephone sighs and shakes her head. "I'm sorry dad," she apologizes, reaching out for him. "I just don't feel like myself. I think I just need to get home and sleep on a _real_ bed for about a day to get back to normal."

Joe sighs and relents, stepping forward and giving his oldest child a warm hug. "You know we're here for you whenever, Persephone."

"I know Dad," she replies, relishing in the warmth of his arms.

Behind Joe, Iris stands at the doorway, watching the touching scene with narrowed eyes. Persephone catches her eye as she continues to hug her father, and they have a silent conversation.

 _"_ _I don't buy that,"_ Iris says, her eyes narrowing further and her eyebrows furrowing. _"Something happened in there."_

 _"…_ _I know,"_ Persi concedes to her twin, _"Just…give me time, okay?"_

 _"…_ _I trust you, Persephone. Always,"_ Iris reminds her.

 _"_ _Thanks sis,"_ she replies, smiling minutely.

Iris sends her a small smile of her own, and is about to walk out of the room when Joe calls out, "You girls are doing your twin thing again, aren't you?"

The girls burst into surprised laughter, and the tense atmosphere is gone from the West household.

After reassuring Kelsey that yes, she is truly here, and yes, she isn't going to get hit by another bolt of lightning ever again, Persephone finally has some privacy in her own apartment.

The apartment itself is spacious and very elegantly furnished with steel counters, marbled floors and beautiful ebony wood paneling and doors. It cost a fortune of course, but her salary (who knew working at a gym could be so rewarding?) makes it easy to pay for and maintain. She is very proud of her place, and likes to show it off as often as she can.

Right now, however, is not the time to show off her aesthetically-pleasing apartment to Kelsey. After giving her a quick goodbye at her front door, Persephone races to her bathroom, slams the door closed and discards her sweatpants and tank top as quickly as she can.

Naked as the day she was born, Persephone stands herself at her full body mirror that is attached to the back of the bathroom door, eyeing her body cautiously. Nothing looks different. She is still tattooed, the spiraled markings resembling tendrils and vines across her skin. Her abs are a little less prominent, but that is understandable, given the fact that she's been asleep for six months.

But she doesn't see anything strange, and she doesn't feel anything strange. Biting her lip and scrunching her eyes closed, she tries to do…well, she doesn't know what exactly, but she tries to make whatever happened earlier happen again.

After what seems like a long moment, she slowly opens one of her eyes and saw…absolutely nothing.

Sighing in defeat, Persephone's shoulders slump and she turns away from the mirror and towards her sink, turning on the faucet and letting the water run over her hands for a few minutes before splashing it over her face. She doesn't know what she was doing, she doesn't even know what the hell that blue thing was! How is she supposed to replicate whatever the hell –!

Gasping in surprise, she turns her body away from the sink and returns to the full-body mirror. And there she is. Her blue eyes glint from the light shining above her, and her skin shines like an ethereal body of water.

"Whoa," she whispers, and jumps in shock. Her voice has changed: it echoes around her, and it reminds of a steady river steam. Chuckling nervously, she takes a step closer to her mirror, watching as her feet ripple with every step she takes. The ripples travel up her aqueous body, but it doesn't feel all that odd. Slowly raising her hand, she pokes herself in the cheek and watches in awe as her index finger slips right through. It feels strange, and she laughs at the odd feeling before pulling her hand back.

How is this possible? So many questions run through her mind, and she doesn't know how she's possibly going to get any answers. No one else could possibly have been in the same situation as she had –

Except Barry.

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

 **AHHHH! Me thinks Persi is going to ask Barry about his meta-human abilities, right? And to ask Barry...well, she'll have to ask S.T.A.R. Labs. Discoveries about! Mysteries! Love! Words!**

 **Guys, I'm really tired, can you tell? I'm going to sleep, I promise to reply to reviews tomorrow after work (yeah, I work on Easter. America, the land of the free guys).**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'M LATE! The trend continues (I've been late to several important events the past couple of days, haha). To make up for it, this chapter is a little bit longer, and I have some pretty exciting news afterwards!**

 **I got so many favorites and follows while I was away! Gosh, you guys are seriously the best. Especially all y'all awesome reviewers! Thanks for the love 3**

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

It is the third time Persephone has visited Barry at S.T.A.R. Labs in the past week. Most of the time, she spends it at his bedside, reading to him, or playing his favorite music, or simply just being in his presence. Other times she gets to know Cisco and Dr. Snow, who insists on being "just Caitlyn", whom are both more friendly than she could have ever imagined, which makes Persephone feel incredibly guilty for blaming them for Barry's condition.

Although she has been at S.T.A.R Labs four times since she has been awake, she still hasn't met the elusive Dr. Harrison Wells, which, to be honest, she is perfectly fine with. Although she may not blame Cisco or Caitlyn anymore, she still doesn't know how she feels about the scientist, even though from what she heard, he did not come out unscathed from the accident either.

Most of the time, she is very excited to see Barry, and enjoys spending her time with the unconscious man, but today, Caitlyn and Cisco can tell something is worrying her. She is not interacting with their patient, but simply holding his hand, watching his still face with furrowed eyebrows and rubbing her thumb across his pale hand.

Cisco is the first to reach out to her, as it comes easier to him, "Is everything alright, Persephone?" he asks gently. "You seem…out of it."

The dark-skinned woman pulls her gaze away from Barry's face and to the worried-looking duo. "It's nothing," she begins to reassure them with a small smile, but it quickly slips away. "Actually," she concedes, pulling herself away from Barry completely and turns to face them fully, "since the accident, have you guys heard of anything… _strange_ …happening to people that were hit directly? You said quite a bit of people died, but you also said there were people like Barry and I that got hit and survived…"

Caitlyn and Cisco are alert in an instant. "When you say _strange_ …" Cisco's obvious question trails off.

With a heavy sigh, Persi stands from her seat and walks up to them, bringing along her cup of water. "I don't know how else to explain it but to show you," she warns them, "please just don't freak out."

Eyes wide, the pair nod their heads in silent agreement, watching her attentively. With a big breath, Persephone takes the cup of water in one hand and proceeds to pour it out, onto her other outstretched hand. For a second, nothing happens.

And then her skin begins to change, slowly at first as the blue pigment travels from the palm of her hand to her wrist with the speed of molasses, but faster as it reaches her elbow, and faster still as it transforms her face and her hair, passing from one side of her body to the other until Persephone West is completely gone and in her place stands a blue, translucent and reflective alien-looking being.

"Holy fuck!" Cisco can't stop himself from cursing as he watches her, taking a half a step back instinctively.

Caitlyn is silent, but her face gives away her surprise as well, but unlike Cisco, she takes a step forward, slowly reaching forward to touch Persephone's still outstretched hand.

"I've been like this since I woke up," Persi says, her strangely-toned voice echoing across the room, startling Caitlyn. "No, it's fine, you can touch," she says, beckoning the scientist forward. "I just figured, y'know, since what happened to me was because of the particle accelerator, you guys may have come across something like this happening to someone else…" she hesitated, but continued on with her question, "maybe even Barry's shown some signs…?"

"This is completely incredible," Caitlyn says, her eyes surveying every inch of aqueous skin. Her hand reaches out for Persephone's and a small, awed gasp exits her lips as her fingers push straight through Persephone's skin.

The newly-revealed metahuman makes an odd sound at the back of her throat, and moves away from the doctor. "It feels very…strange," she explains, keeping some distance between herself and the S.T.A.R. Labs workers.

With a small shudder, Persephone begins to transform once more as her blue skin retracts and her original caramel tone reappears. Both Cisco and Caitlyn are still staring in awe when the transformation is complete, and so she breaks the silence awkwardly.

"So…" she clears her throat quietly, "am I the first…?"

Her soft, insecure question seems to break them out of their trance. "No! Well, yes, but no," Cisco answers in classic Cisco fashion. "It's complicated."

Caitlyn rolls her eyes, as is penchant whenever she is around Cisco, and elaborates, "What he's trying to say is that we've had our suspicions. We've been keeping track of as many people as we could, but it's really hard to without the resources we used to have. Our only real proof that the particle accelerator explosion changed _something_ in some people that were hit was Barry…and now there's you."

Persephone's heart seemed to want to jump out of her chest, "So he was affected, then?"

"Well, his cells for one are always in a regenerative state, and one of the fastest I've ever seen. His heartbeat is also superhumanly fast…that's all we can really tell while he's asleep. When he wakes up, we're ninety percent sure he's going to show signs of…something," she replies, shrugging helplessly.

That is all Persephone needs however. To know that she will not be alone in trying to figure out what the particle accelerator has done to her body is the most comforting thought she's had since she woke up from her coma. The fact that it's Barry who will be sharing this burden with her makes her feel a thousand times better.

She shoves away the ugly feeling of nervousness, that Barry won't want to share this with her, and will keep this all to himself. Her best friend can be secretive when he wants to be, especially when he feels like being open makes him a burden. She will just have to prove to him that he could never be a burden to her.

"So…do you guys want to run some tests?"

Persephone is almost dizzy from how fast the duo moves in response to her question.

For the next few months, Persephone becomes a sort of lab rat of S.T.A.R. Labs. She is constantly in their presence, being poked, prodded, and put into several situations so that they can understand her abilities more.

Despite being scrutinized constantly, Persephone doesn't mind being S.T.A.R. Labs' pet rat at the moment, because they can help her right now more than anyone else possibly can. In a week, they've helped her train her body to not react automatically when it touches water – which is a huge relief, seeing as her main job is teaching people how to swim – and within two weeks, she can transform at will, which is kind of amazing.

She always feels at home with the duo; they're so very easy for her to relate with, and they share her anxiousness for Barry to wake soon. It's unfair of her to say that neither her sister nor her father care about Barry as much as she does, but she feels that it's the truth. Neither of them have an inkling, much more so an anticipation, of what may have happened to Barry, and the amazing skills he may have when he's finally up.

Although she, Caitlyn and Cisco have become fast friends and she feels completely at ease with them, the same cannot be said for her and Dr. Harrison Wells. He is…well, for lack of a better word, _intense_. His disability does nothing to hurt the presence he carries when he is in a room, and his eyes are so _piercing_ ; sometimes she feels like he's looking straight through her (well, when she's transformed, he is, but that's besides the point), and it makes her feel…well, she can't explain it.

She tries not to think about it too often, but she always feels like she can feel his electric blue eyes following her around. She is always sure not to be in a room alone with him, following Cisco as he does runs around the enormous facility without complaint. Naturally, Caitlyn is the only one she allows to do physical tests with her, although Persephone suspects Dr. Wells takes extra interest in her physicals checks and the results of her tests.

Shuddering (in what she's not too sure is purely disgust, but doesn't think about it too much), she finishes her 500 laps in S.T.A.R. Labs' football field-sized underground pool – it's amazing the sort of things you can do with your body when you just become a part of your surroundings – with ease and pushes herself out of the water with a huge leap from the tiled floor of the pool. Pesephone shows off a little as she somersaults in the air and lands perfectly on her feet, her arms stretched out in a dramatic pose.

She expects some eager, over-dramatic applause or at least a mutter of "Show-off" from Cisco, but all she receives is silence.

"Guys?" her oddly reverberating voice doesn't freak her out much at all, as a matter of fact, she has grown to love the strange warbling. It comforts her in some odd way. "Hey, how did I do?"

"Fantastically, as always," the response doesn't come from the large speakers in the ceiling like she expects it to, but from the doorway. Dr. Wells sits in wheelchair, staring at her with an odd glint in his eye.

"D-Dr. Wells," she stammers, taking an involuntary step back. During the last month and a half of training, she has made sure to never be alone in his presence. "What are you doing down here?"

"Witnessing the beginnings of something amazing," he replies honestly. "Your gift…it will change the world."

She chuckles nervously, and resists the urge to jump back into the pool, where she is invisible. "I don't know about, Dr. Wells. I think it's cool, but…I don't think it's going to make a difference in the world."

"That is where you're wrong, Persephone." He says her name with such conviction, it makes her feel bare and exposed to this man. "You may not see it now, but what you can do – it will change the very course of this earth. You will shape the future. It sounds very dramatic and overwhelming, but you don't have to worry. I will be there to help you every step of the way."

 _"_ _That's what scares me the most."_

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

 **Sooooo, guess who's back in the next chapter? It's Barry! Ahhhh, I'm so excited guys, you have no idea.**

 **Some of you may find that I was really vague when writing about what exactly happened in her training and what her abilities are exactly, and that's because it's going to addressed in the next chapter with Barry, and I didn't want to repeat myself. So worry not, you'll get some more detail about what Persephone can do exactly; she's actually the coolest freaking person ever and I'm not just saying that because I created her.**

 **I want to say next chapter will be tomorrow, but I'm gonna play it safe and go for Sunday instead, but keep your eyes peeled! Maybe some reviews will motivate me, huh? *winkwink***


	13. Chapter 13

**Er...hi everyone? It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm so sorry about my long absence! A lot of stuff has been happening in my life, but nothing so jarring that I couldn't have updated. I apologize, folks. I know how it is when you really get into a story, and suddenly the author stops updating it.**

 **To apologize, here's an extra long chapter for you guys! Also to any new readers, welcome, I hope you enjoy!**

Persephone isn't as prepared for Barry's awakening as she would like to think she is. On the day of (which coincidentally happens to be the only day she doesn't have to go to S.T.A.R. Labs or work), she is simply lounging at home watching Netflix and eating ice-cream when her phone goes blaring – normally it's always on vibrate, but there are a few numbers that she keeps on sound alert to indicate importance.

Jumping a little, she stretches her arm past her head, towards the coffee table and grabs her phone before it vibrates off the table. Not bothering to really check caller I.D, she taps her screen and brings the phone to her ear.

"What's up, Cisco?" she greets, licking the remnants of her caramel ice-cream of her spoon.

"Persi, you have to get here ASAP," he says excitedly, "He's up."

*~*~ToL~*~*

Persephone has never felt so anxious in her life as she breaks traffic rules and zooms into the abandoned parking lot of S.T.A.R. Labs. Jumping out of her car and rushing into the facility, she skids to a stop when she reaches Caitlyn and Cisco, who are both standing around, looking as anxious as she feels.

"Where is he?" she asks immediately.

The duo glance at each other, before shrugging helplessly. "He just left –" Cisco begins, but Persephone cuts him off before he can continue.

"You just _let_ him walk off?" she asks disbelievingly.

"We couldn't really stop him!" Caitlyn defends, "He wanted to leave as soon as we mentioned Iris, and not even Dr. Wells could stop him from leaving."

All of Persephone's excitement and anticipation seems to die down with Caitlyn's revelation. Of course he would look for Iris before he thought about absolutely anything – or anyone else. She had been so naïve to think that anything at all would have changed because she has changed. To Barry, everything is the same – aside from the fact that he has been in a coma for nine months.

She sinks into the closest chair dejectedly. "Did you even get to run tests? Did _anything_ happen?" she asks, hoping for the best but fearing the worst.

Dr. Wells answers for the duo, "Unfortunately, even with my attempt to persuade Mr. Allen, he could not be swayed to stay any longer. But I have a feeling he'll be back soon."

Persephone is too hurt and angry at herself to be bothered by Harrison's presence. She simply nods and runs a hand through her hair, pulling apart two strands of tangled curls. She expects (more like she hopes) that Dr. Wells is done talking to her and will now focus on Cisco and Caitlyn, but he gestures to her, then to the door.

"Would you be inclined to take a walk with me, Ms. West? There is something I would like to discuss with you."

Usually, this is where Persephone would make up some sort of excuse to avoid having to spend any alone time with the mysterious scientist, but currently she cannot think of anyway her day can get any worse and hesitantly accepts his offer, rising from the chair she just occupied and walking out of the room with him.

"What can I do for you, Dr. Wells?" she asks after a few minutes of silence has passed between the two. Her nerves are still shot from the anxiousness of wanting to see Barry, but she feels calmer now. It's strange, because she has always been the more hotheaded twin. With her new aquatic abilities however, she tends to cool off a lot faster, even if she is still irritated.

"You must be glad that Mr. Allen is up and about," he starts. She smiles, but shrugs non-committally at him.

"I am," she agrees, "but even though I'm really happy that he's awake, I'm also really anxious…about whether or not something happened to him." She's surprises both of them by confessing how she really feels about the situation. Although her heart rate is steady, her breathing calm, her mind is going haywire, imagining the possibilities of Barry's power, if he has one. She feels like this is her chance – for Barry to finally see her, and not just Iris, or she and Iris together. This could be the beginning…

"Ah…and this is where I must ask something of you Ms. West, that I believe you are not going to be particularly inclined with."

By this time, they have reached the parking lot. The sun is shining heavily down on them, and for an instant, she pities Dr. Wells for having to look up at her and into the blinding light of the bright sky. He squints at her from his wheelchair, but there is a small smile playing on his lips. It is not a smile that looks to be pleasant, but rather apologetic, and Persephone feels her stomach churn uneasily at the sight of it.

"From what I understand about him, Barry Allen is an outstanding scientist, a great friend, son, and brother. Most of all, he is a good man, with better morals than the average person you would find on the street. If, theoretically, he has manages to acquire some abilities, given his history and his job, I fear that he will be inclined to use those abilities wrongly –"

Persephone frowns, but knows better to interrupt. Dr. Wells is pitching an argument to her, and he is beating around the bush. This is unusual for the handicapped genius, seeing as he spends most of his time just ordering people about.

"Get to the point, Dr. Wells," she cuts him off when it seems like his rambling isn't going to end. He stops mid-sentence, and gives her a sheepish smile.

"I would like you to keep your abilities to yourself. Do not tell Mr. Allen about what you can do."

*~*~ToL~*~*

Persephone makes it to C.C Fitness just in time to miss the lunch rush traffic. She waves absent-mindedly at Kelsey and Jeff, who sit at the front desk and make a striking picture of athletic gossips.

The gym is fairly quiet during the afternoon, with the exception of the two senior Zumba classes that are being held on the third floor of the gym. She pokes her head into one of the two, waves at the familiar faces and dutifully doesn't giggle at Mrs. Pryce's outrageous Zumba moves that require everyone to move ten feet away from her. Alexi, the trainer, signals if she needs her, and she jerks her head up, smiling slightly.

Rolling her eyes, Alexi encourages the seniors to keep going as she pulls her lanyard off her neck and tosses it to the shorter of the two girls. Catching the keys gracefully, Persephone gives the tall Russian a grateful smile and quickly slips out of the class. The upbeat music is now muffled, but the floor vibrates with the bass.

Mechanically, the caramel-skinned girl reaches for the locked door to the rooftop and unlocks it with Alexi's keys. Ever since "The Incident", the management has been very unwilling to let people come and go through the rooftop facilities, especially the victim herself. She has spent several hours arguing with her superiors about the "once-in-a-lifetime" experience that is her getting hit by lightning. In a pool. Seriously, they expect her to get hit _again_? That's some extraordinary bad luck.

Currently, however, the swimmer can't be bothered to follow the rules, not with the conversation she just had with Dr. Wells. She needs a place to figure out her thoughts, and this is the best place for her.

Easily shrugging off the tank top she wore and shimmying out of her shorts, Persephone doesn't hesitate to plunge into the water. It is cool and refreshing, despite the fact that the sun has been hammering away at the entire town since morning.

Her body flickers blue for several seconds as she submerges herself under the water, a sign of her wandering mind and her inability to concentrate on her new instincts. She takes a deep calming breath, however, and the flickering dies down and her caramel toned skinned takes precedence over her form.

Idly, she does a few flips, her hair slowly following her curves and angles. She is hypnotically beautiful, but she doesn't realize it. All of her thoughts are on Barry, and Dr. Wells' warning for her.

 _"…_ _you want me to_ _ **not**_ _tell him?" she replies after a long, strained silence between the two. Her brows are furrowed and her lips are pursed. She is obviously about to decline his plea, but is hearing his argument just out of curiosity and politeness._

 _"_ _I have a hunch," he begins, licking his lips in what is meant to be a nervous habit. This only makes the woman furrow her brows even more, and cross her arms. "I have a hunch that he is going to put himself in grave danger when he realizes he can do something –_ _ **if**_ _he can do anything. He sounds like he's a very selfless, and helpful person, and I fear he will endeavor to…become something of a hero –"_

 _"_ _So what? That's his prerogative, isn't it?" she cuts him off sharply. The frown is only getting deeper with each word Wells spoke._

 _"_ _Well…yes of course," he murmurs, his eyes flashing in what looks like surprise. He isn't expecting that reaction from her, she supposes. "However – there are others out there. I believe. They have also been affected by the particle accelerator, but not all of them will be willing to do, ah, virtuous acts with their new abilities. Some of them may even strive to hurt Barry –"_

 _"_ _All the more reason I should tell him. I would have his back," she says firmly._

 _He visibility starts in his wheelchair. "Absolutely not!" he replies. Taking off his glasses, he pins her on the spot with a soul-piercing glare. "We don't know enough about what you can do, and that's even more so in Barry's case. We can't have you getting hurt, under any circumstance!"_

 _Persephone cocks her head to the side and regards him in stony silence. After a moment, she replies, "No offense, Dr. Wells. But you've already done a lot of hurt to the two of us. Because of you, our lives have been completely changed. I don't exactly plan to go out there and become the next superhero, but if that's what Barry wants to – and you're right, he will want to. That's just the sort of person he is – then you better believe without a doubt that I won't let him fight alone. I've been by his side ever since I've met him, and that's not going to change now."_

Persephone, for the life of her, can't understand why Dr. Wells would think that she would consider his outrageous idea. Putting aside the fact that she is completely enamored with Barry (she isn't telling everyone about her love for him, but if the members of S.T.A.R Labs haven't figured it out yet, then they are oblivious), he is her _best friend_. Does he expect her to stand-by and worry about him when she would be better off helping him?

She scoffs inwardly. She can't expect a stranger to know, better yet understand, what she feels for Barry and how far she is willing to go for him.

*~*~ToL~*~*

Seeing Barry moving, walking and talking, hits her harder than any lightning bolt could ever do. His hair is wind-swept beyond belief, as if he's been running at the beach, where the winds tend to get pretty insane. His brows are furrowed as well, indicating he's deep in thought about something serious – or maybe he's contemplating all the comics he now has to catch up on.

"Allen," she says in way of greeting, leaning casually against her car. Her nonchalant pose does nothing to calm her incredibly rapid heartbeat.

Startled, he looks up from his shoes, and his eyes get wide in surprise and excitement at the sight of her. "Persi!" he exclaims, grinning widely.

She tries. Really she does. She can't, however, stop herself from jumping on him and holding on for all she's worth. She squeezes him tightly, relishing in the feel of him. _Too long_ , she thinks to herself, her eyes tearing up as his reciprocates her hug just at tightly. _Too fucking long_.

 _"_ _Never again."_ She swears to herself.

Barry is the one who breaks their embrace, but he keeps his hands on her shoulders. "Jesus, Persephone," he begins, eyeing her gravity-defying curls. "I thought you hated your hair like this."

Self-consciously, she pulls at one of her multi-toned curls. "Yeah…it's gotten pretty irritating. I just haven't really had time to do anything about it." She shrugs helplessly, then turns her critical eye on him.

It is Barry's turn to feel self-conscious as his best friend walks around him, eyeing him from head to toe. After a complete 360 visual examination, she turns to face him again, and gives him a small smile.

"Welcome back. I've missed you a ton."

His hand reaches up and ruffles his hair in embarrassment. Persephone is usually casual with him, but sometimes she gets intensely emotional with him, as if trying to convey something more to him with her expressive brown eyes. They remind him too much of Iris, however, and he shrugs off the attention with a practiced deviation.

"I bet you have, West!" he jokes, cutting through the tension he feels around his best friend. "Nine whole months without good ol' me to entertain you? I'm surprised you haven't gone crazy."

Persephone inwardly sighs in disappointment. Nothing has changed, of course not. He has been asleep this whole time, probably dreaming about Iris while she pined away. God, she is so _pathetic_! Pushing aside her self-depreciation, she answers his question.

"Actually," she relays to her lanky friend. "I've only been missing you for a third of the time that everyone else has." His brow furrows in confusion, and she furiously stomps down the urge to coo at how cute he is. "I got hit too, Allen. I was in a coma; I woke up about three months ago."

His eyes widen, and now it's his turn to critically access her, walking around her twice in his anxiousness to make sure she's okay. "Why didn't anyone tell me? Y-you were hurt, oh my god – you could have been k-killed!"

"But I'm not." Barry comes to a stop in front of her, his eyes full of worry for his best friend. "Matter of fact, I'd say I'm better. Especially now that you're awake too."

She punches him in the shoulder, expecting him to wince like he always does. Rather, he grins, not even seeming to notice her hit, and throws an arm over her shoulders.

"Come on Persi, let's go get some coffee and talk some more. Iris has a shift there too!" He takes two long strides, and parks her feet next to her car door. She wrinkles her nose at him at the thought of sharing him right of the bat, but he laughs it off and strides to the passenger's side.

Obligingly, she drives Barry to Jitters, catching him up on all the newest science-fiction shows, comics and mangas. He asks about Attack on Titan, and laughingly, she denies, "Oh no, I'm not touching that with a ten-foot pole until you're all caught up. No spoilers for you, mister!"

His face breaks into a pout. He hates not knowing, but he knows Persi is right. He will hate for all the surprises to be ruined for him. He sees her sly caramel fingers reaching out to pull at his extended bottom lip, and he snaps playfully at them as they gets closer to his face.

Although she is having a really good time, Persephone is beyond nervous. Her mind continues to wander to her conversation with Dr. Wells, and she doesn't know how exactly how to bring up the topic of her abilities.

 _"_ _So…has anything really weird happened to you?"_ or maybe _"Wanna see something cool?"_ She inwardly shakes her head. She just has to wait for the perfect time. Eyeing him from the corner of her eye, she tries to spot something – anything really – that will give her a hint of what has happened to him. There is nothing however, and she sighs despondently. She thought it would be a piece of cake, but now that he's here, she has no idea how even approach the subject.

In her absentmindedness, they have reached Jitters faster than she expected, and she's parking in her usual spot, close to the patio tables. In his excitement, Barry is out of the car before it's stopped fully, and Persephone rolls her eyes at him, but keys off the ignition and steps out of her car to follow him.

Past Barry's shoulders, she spots her father's partner, Eddie Thawne, sitting morosely at one of the patio tables. Catching up to Barry's long strides, they begin to head over to Thawne's table as Iris emerges from the building behind him. She sees them exchange words, and to her surprise, her twin laughs flirtatiously at the detective, and pulls him closer for a kiss.

Persephone's eyebrows disappear into her curly bangs. Oh boy, was their father going to freak when he found out…

Iris pulls away from the kiss, and glances in their direction. The smile slips off her face when she notices them. Persephone doesn't have to look at Barry to know he's upset about this development, and her eyebrows haven't returned to their original spot yet.

Bashfully, Iris murmurs something to her _boyfriend_ , then hurries to where they're standing. Hooking an arm with her sister's, she asks, "Let's take a walk?" Persephone hooks and arm with Barry and he turns to follow them, albeit unwillingly, if the shuffling of his feet is anything to go by.

The older twin waits till they are out of sight of Eddie before she bumps shoulders with Iris. "When were you gonna tell me? I'm so mad at you right now!" she says, but the slight grin on her face tells her little sister otherwise.

"Oh my god, I knew you would freak out on me! And you would _so_ never let me live it down; dating _Detective Pretty Boy_ –" the younger twin answers, bumping shoulders in return.

"Well, that's cos he _is_ a very pretty boy," Persephone teases, waggling her eyebrows. "It's so very scandalous, can you even _imagine_ what Dad's face is gonna look like when he finds out?"

Iris gasps in horror, and breaks away from her twin, taking a few steps forward and turning to stop them in their tracks. "You wouldn't dare," she hisses at her sister.

Persi's grin only grows, and Iris looks like she is about to have a fit. "You _cannot_ tell Dad! Neither of you! He doesn't know about us yet," she pleads, looking back and forth from Barry to Persephone with desperation in her eyes.

"Well, seeing as you apparently weren't even gonna tell us..."

"I _was_ going to tell you," she argues. She relinks arms with Persephone, and they resume walking, crossing the street. "He covered shifts for Dad so we could watch the both of you, I bought him a cup of coffee as a thank you, and it just went from there! And it's really good!" She smiles at them, and Persi cannot help but smile back. If he can make her smile like that, Eddie is alright in her book, she decides.

Barry however, frowns even more at the sight of Iris' smile. "Isn't it against regulation or something?" he bites. "Dating your partner's daughter?"

Iris's smile quickly turns into a confused frown. "Why are you so upset?" she asks, not understanding his negativity.

Inwardly, Persephone smirks. _Yes, Barry. Explain to her, without confessing, why you are so upset about this_ , she thinks. It's cruel of her, but she enjoys seeing Barry squirm in these situations. And honestly, she doesn't know how Iris can _still_ be so dense about his affections.

"I just don't like to lie to your father," he says glumly, narrowly escaping an awkward situation. _Good save_ , she has to hand it to him. It's probably not entirely false, but it's definitely not the reason he's so tied up about it.

Persephone's head cocks to the side as she hears sirens approaching them. Faster than she can look, Barry turns around to see an officer lose control of his car and come careening towards them. Eyes widening, he grips on to her arm, grabs his sister's, and pulls them out of the way before it can hit them.

The three of them slam into the ground with various groans, although Barry is the first to recover. Persephone pushes herself off the ground just in time to feel a whoosh of air. Turning to her side, she frowns as she realizes Barry is missing. Iris notices to, calling for him in confusion and slight panic.

Helping her younger sister up, she glances around, trying to figure out where he could have run to. The officer in the car runs to them, apologizing profusely and asking them if they're alright. Iris assures him that they are fine, but Persephone pays him no mind.

Further ahead on the road, her eyes widen as a black car suddenly flips over and crashes back into the ground, upside down. The crash is loud enough for Iris and the apologetic officer to hear, but it's obvious that it's too far away for them to see it clearly, like she can.

A man steps out of the car, not to harmed, but she can't really make out who he is. A second later, a blur that turns out to be a Barry-looking figure stops behind the man. A wave of nausea hits her, and she shuts her eyes, groaning softly and leaning on her sister for support. Iris shoots her a concerned look, and leads her into a sitting position on the curb.

"I'm okay," she murmurs reassuringly as Iris places her hands on her temples. "I might have just hit my head when we went down for cover." The starts a whole wave of more apologies from the cop, but she waves a hand his way.

There is loud honking, and then another crash happens. They all look towards the sound, but their vision is completely obscured by an intensely think fog that came from nowhere. By this time, another wave of cop cars, as well as an ambulance are pulling up to them, although very cautiously.

Barry reappears from the fog, looking a little shell-shocked. "Barry!" Iris exclaims, rising from the curb to hug him fiercely. "What happened? One moment you were here and the next you were gone!"

Persephone keeps silent, but regards him thoughtfully. "I just ran up ahead," he replies, returning her hug. "Just to see what was happening."

"God, you scared me," Iris sighs, then pulls away to return to her sister. "I thought something happened to you and we didn't notice it."

Barry apologizes, coming to join the twins down on the curb. Looking past Iris, he gives Persi a worrying glance. "Are you okay, Persephone?"

Shrugging, she gives him the same reply she gave Iris, meanwhile trying to figure out what the hell happened to her. Maybe it was the eye thing? She's never done it before, so maybe she can't do it for long periods of time…? It's something she will have to bring up to Caitlyn in her next check-up.

After a few minutes have passed, the fog clears away slowly, and the ambulances are able to drive further to the crash site. The first car, the black Mustang, is empty, although there are a few blood splatters mixed in with the glass. The second car, however, contains a dead driver, whose neck snapped at impact. The trio watches sadly as he is pulled out and put in a body bag.

"The poor guy," Iris murmurs, and Barry throws an arm around her in comfort. "The way that fog rolled in; I've never seen anything like it."

"Persi! Barry! Iris!" Detective West rushes towards them, concern visible in his features.

"Dad!" Iris exclaims, rising to her feet. Not feeling up to it, his older daughter merely waves a hand at him in greeting, while Barry stands as well.

"We're all okay Dad," Iris tries to reassure him, but he isn't having any of it.

"What the hell were you thinking, having them out here?" he angrily asks Barry. "And you two!" He turns to the girls, his anger rising. "I've told you before: when you see danger, go the other way! You're not cops!"

"Yeah, because you wouldn't let us be," mutters Persephone.

Joe looks like he is about to go into full lecture mode, but Barry cuts him off, "Joe, I need to talk to you."

"Later."

"No, _now_."

Joe gives both his girls a glare, which they return, and he follows Barry out of their earshot.

Persephone is feeling better at this point, and pulls herself up from the curb. "Dad can be such a…" she trails of, searching for a good word to describe her overbearing father.

"Dad?" Iris suggests, smirking slightly.

"Yup, that's exactly it," she agrees, laughing with her twin.

They huddle together, murmuring and giggling to each other, but they both turn when they hear their father raise his voice.

"…just like there was no lightning storm in your house that night! It was your brain, helping a scared little boy accept what he saw!" he yells in Barry's face.

"Uh-oh," Iris mutters. Uh-oh is right. This is an argument that happens constantly under the West roof, and it's always Barry who gets hurt in these arguments. Persephone resists the urge to butt in, because she knows nothing can stop her father now that he's on a roll.

Barry's head shakes resolutely. "My dad did not –"

"Yes he did!" Joe yells back, frustrated at Barry's lack of acceptance for what happened years ago. "Your dad killed your mother, I'm sorry son. I knew it, the jury knew it, and now he's paying for what he did."

Iris obviously can't take any more of this, and she strides to them, "Dad, enough –"

"Iris," he says warningly, then turns back to Barry, who has his signature defeated look on his face at this point. "Barry, I have tried to take care of you since that night, and I have never asked for anything in return – not even a thank you. But what I _do_ ask from you now is that for once in your life, you to see things as they really are!"

Barry has nothing to say at this point, and defeatedly walks away from Joe. Iris takes a step forward, wanting to follow, but a step back and notices Eddie approaching them. She turns away and walks toward the blonde.

Persephone has no qualms about following Barry however. Giving her father a nasty glare, she strides past him and runs to catch up with her best friend.

"Hey," she says in lieu of greeting when she catches up to him, barely matching his long strides.

If he is startled by her appearance, he doesn't say anything, but rather he grunts frustratedly and keeps up his quick pace.

"Back there –" she began, but he is quick to interrupt her.

"Just don't, alright Perse? I know no one is ever going to believe what I say, but I know what I saw! And I'm going to prove it to you," he says heatedly, his fists clenching at his sides.

"I've always believed you," she says softly, not expecting him to catch it.

He does, however, and gives her a side glance. Slowing to a stop, he sighs and runs a hand through his short hair. "Yeah," he murmurs. "I know you have. I'm sorry. It's just – something happened. Something completely crazy happened and it means that I was right!"

This is it, she realizes. This is him telling her that he can do things too. "What happened, Barry?" she encourages him. "You know you can trust me. I've got your back –"

"And I've got yours," he replies, a soft smile growing on his lips. "Let's head back to the car, yeah? I've got somewhere I have to go, and I can explain it to you on the way there."

Grinning up at him, she links an arm with him and nods in agreement.

*~*~ToL~*~*

 **I had a TON of fun incorporating Persephone into the original scenes. I didn't think I'd enjoy it so much, because I myself get tired of seeing the original scenes written out with no changes in the plot, but oh boy are there plans for this plot!**

 **How did you like the Barry/Persephone interactions? What about the Barry/Persephone/Iris? Any thoughts or questions? Anything exciting happen while I was away? Let me know!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello everyone! Happy Sunday! How has everyone's weekend been? More eventful than mine, I'm sure. Please, relay me with all the details of your exciting lives, because mine is painfully boring at the moment :C**

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

"You don't have to wait here for me," Barry reassures Persephone as she pulls up at the doors of the Lab. "I can get another ride."

Raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him as he exits the stylish car, she shrugs and replies, "If you're sure."

He is surprised that she doesn't argue wanting to stay and wait for him a little harder, and he can barely get the door closed before she zooms away into the waning sunlight.

He frowns at her tail-lights. He knows he hurt her by refusing to tell her what has happened to him – but he can't expect her to understand. He doesn't understand himself! All he knows right now is the people here at S.T.A.R. Labs have not been completely truthful to him. Mardon is alive! And he has a strange ability as well, meaning there is no way Barry is the only one affected by what happened with the particle accelerator.

His steps speed up as he reaches the automatic steel doors, the frown not receding from his face. They have a lot of explain to do...

*~*~ToL~*~*

Persephone doesn't drive very far, only a few blocks, before she slams on her breaks. Her vision is impaired from the tears that fill her eyes, and she slams her fists so hard into her steering wheel that they throb.

She had been so naïve…! To think that Barry would immediately tell her what had happened to him without hesitation, was such a childish notion. She had hoped beyond hopes that her "best-friend" card would allow him to tell her…

She understands why he refused to tell her though. How can she be angry at him, when she couldn't even bring herself to tell him, or her father, or even her _twin_? How do you tell someone who has known you your whole life that one event has changed your very physiology, and expect them to look at you as the same person?

She understands why he wouldn't tell her, but that doesn't stop her heart from hurting.

Sniffing slightly, she angrily wipes away the few tears that cling to her eyelashes and in a split-second decision, swerves the car around back to S.T.A.R. Labs. She is glad that the neighborhood around the Lab is completely deserted, and no one can see her driving like a maniac.

Parking further away so that Barry wouldn't notice her car, she hurriedly keys off the engine and races into the building, going straight for the main hall where she can usually find Caitlyn and Cisco.

As she approaches, she can hear Dr. Wells soft voice, and Barry's agitated one. Slowing down a tad, she bites at her lip as she tries to strain her ears to hear their conversation.

"-we _have_ to stop him!" she hears Barry yell. Okay, so no straining needed…

"That's a job for the police," Dr. Wells replies, obviously getting annoyed at Barry for suggesting it's his duty to stop the super-powered criminal.

"Yeah, I work for the police." Persephone can almost see the "no-duh" expression on her best friend's face.

She has to move closer to catch Dr. Wells, retort, and she almost misses it with how soft his voice has gotten, "As a forensic assistant."

"Look, _you're_ responsible for this. For him."

She flinches as Well's voice rings through the air, sharp and unyielding, "What's important is you! Not me. I've lost everything my company, my reputation, my _freedom_. Then you broke your arm and it healed in three hours. Inside your body could be a map to a whole new world, and we cannot risk losing everything because you want to go out and play _hero_!

"You're not a hero," he continues, his voice softer than it has been all night, but loud enough for everyone present to hear clearly. "You're just a young man who was struck by lightning."

 _What is today, "Kick Barry Allen while he's down" Day?_ She frustratedly thinks, having half a mind to walk in there, mindless of Barry's presence, and kick Wells in the shin. Not that he would feel it, the bastard.

The athletic woman barely has time to press herself against the wall and be as invisible as possible before the doors slide open and Barry storms out, too furious to notice her presence. She waits till she can hear him stomp his way out of the building, before sighing heavily and entering the room he just left.

The tense silence weighs heavily on her shoulders as she crosses the threshold. The occupants look up at her from their various positions of anger/frustration, obviously surprised to see her there.

"If that was your way of keeping him from fighting," she says, not bothering to hide the fact that she heard every word of their interaction, "you just failed epically. All you've done now is made him a very determined man."

Dr. Wells doesn't vocally respond, but slips the glasses off his face and turns his wheelchair away from her direction. Scoffing slightly, she takes a seat next to Cisco, who still looks stunned at her presence.

"You didn't tell him?" Caitlyn asks, her lips pursed in confusion and surprise.

Persephone shrugs slightly, not really feeling like going into detail. "Neither did you guys." The shifty eyes and Cisco's not-so-subtle glance to his boss tell her exactly who ordered them to keep their mouths shut about her abilities. Despite disagreeing with him on several issues that concerned Barry, and despite the fact that he gave her a weird vibe, the athletic woman can honestly tell herself she respects how headstrong he is. He is very much like Barry in that aspect.

Standing, Persephone stretches her arms above her head, pulling at the tight ball of muscles in her back. After only slightly relaxing her back muscles, she strides over to the disabled scientist, giving him a winning smile.

"Take a walk with me, Dr. Wells?" she requests, her smile getting wider.

He looks at her suspiciously, as if he is trying to figure out what motive she has to talk to him in private. His eyes pierce into her, and it takes everything in her not squirm.

The silence stretches on, but he answers her just when she is desperate to clap a blindfold over the man. "Of course, Ms. West," he murmurs, turning his chair closer to her and towards the doors. "After you."

*~*~ToL~*~*

They don't stroll very far from the Lab before Persephone gets right to the chase.

"Barry is licking his wounds, but he's going to be back," she informs the man, but she has the feeling he already knows this. Wells acknowledges her words with a terse nod, a visible question forming in his eyes. Before he can respond however, the dark-skinned woman ploughs through,

"He's only been awake for a day, less than that even! He can't fight. All those other metas have months of practicing against him. Even I'm stronger than him and all I can do is turn my entire body into a liquid state.

"I need you to not be his enemy right now. Right now, the only people he thinks he can talk to about what happened to him are you and your employees. You are the only ones that can help him understand how all of this is supposed to work now. When he comes back, I need you to agree to help him fight, and help him get stronger. _Please_."

She isn't standing anymore. Persephone is crouched down, her weight pressed down on the balls of her feet, and her hands gripping at Dr. Wells' armrests to maintain her balance. The paler man looks initially surprised, then awfully uncomfortable at her proximity to him, but she doesn't let up on him. She has a point to make.

"Tell me that when we get back to the Lab, your next words to Barry are going to be words of encouragement, rather than trying to shut him down," she breathes, her eyes wide and pleading.

Wells nods, a strange jerking motion of head that tells Persephone that he is only agreeing mainly to get her away from his personal bubble, but that is more than enough for her. The smile that gives him is blinding, and satisfied, she starts to pull away from the scientist, ready to head back and find her way into her bed.

She is cut short when his arms snap up from his lap, and with a strength she didn't imagine he possessed, kept her crouched down to his level. Startled, she flails slightly, and has no choice but to grip Well's thighs to stop herself from face-planting into his crotch.

"What the f-" she exclaims, more out of surprise than anger, but before she can continue with the string of expletives that pop into her mind, Wells begins talking.

"I am going to help him get stronger, because you asked me to," his voice is rough and low, and Persephone refuses to acknowledge the thrill of arousal that runs through her. "But I'm not doing it out of the kindness of my heart. From now on, after I train and help him with Caitlyn and Francisco, I will personally train you – no, _listen to me!_ " He orders when she tries to pull away once more, his deceptively strong fingers gripping her shoulders tightly, keeping her in place.

She stills, underneath his hands, eyes wide and lips parted in a small 'o'. She has never seen this side of Harrison Wells before, and for some reason, it strikes a chord in her like no one ever has.

Pleased that she is keeping still, Wells loosens his grip on her bare shoulders, but doesn't let her go. "Good," he smiles smugly.

Has he always been that handsome? Persephone isn't sure how she didn't realize it before.

"While he trains with them, I will train you to be stronger. Despite what I have told you about keeping yourself out of danger, I fear that just like your friend, you are too headstrong, and you will find yourself running into danger for him," he explained.

"I need to be sure you don't get hurt out there. However, there is still the issue of Barry not knowing about your abilities – which I'd like to keep that way, and I believe you will agree with me there. That will not stop you from helping him when he is at his most dire situation however, but it will stop you from training with him."

She blinks, and licks her lips nervously. Her brain is too fritzed to notice how the scientist's eyes follow her tongue's movements, enthralled. "So…I train with you privately? To get stronger for Barry?" she summarizes.

"To put it simply, yes. He cannot rely on you constantly because he will not get stronger if he can always fall back to you, but he will most definitely need your assistance sooner or later when he comes across something to much for him to handle. And you will be there to save him."

To save Barry...well, that sounds wonderful to her. For all the years of being by his side, Persephone had never been able to save Barry from any of the pain or heartache he had to endure. This was her chance to start.

"Yes, of course, Dr. Wells," she agrees without hesitation. "I have to get stronger for him."

*~*~ToL~*~*

They talk some more, and begin to leisurely head back to the Lab. By the time they return, Cisco and Caitlyn are on comms with Barry, who is fighting Clyde Mardon and not exactly winning, judging by the anxious looks on their faces. Before she can ask what exactly is happening to him, Cisco winces, and hurrying over, Persephone sees a three-dimensional replica of Barry on both of their screens, and Caitlyn's is currently flashing red ominously.

"What's wrong?" she demands, hands clutching at the back of the bioengineer's chair.

"He's going to be okay," Cisco assures her, despite he himself clutching at his hands in nervousness. "I know he is."

 _"_ _It's too strong!"_ Barry exclaims from the speakers, panting harshly.

Desperate, Persephone turns to Dr. Wells, motioning for him. "Do something!" she exclaims, frantic. "Tell him _something_!"

The man in question forces himself to not roll his eyes, but obliges her request, steering himself to the spare microphone connected to Barry's comms, leaning in to encourage him, "You can do this Barry. You were right: I am responsible for all this. So many people have been hurt because of me, and when I looked at you, all I saw was another potential victim of my hubris. And yes, I created this madness, but you Barry, you can stop it. You can do this, now run Barry! _Run!_ "

The pep talk seems to be enough. Persephone walks over to Wells, placing a hand on his shoulder, looking at the screen depicting the freak tornado that Barry was trying to unravel.

"It's working," she whispered, elated.

There is a long, pained yell, a muted boom, then god-awful silence. The four of them wait, tense, trying to hear something from his end.

"Barry?" Caitlyn calls out, but he can't reply. They hear someone else call out to him, and a Southern accent fills the speakers.

"I didn't think there was anyone else like me," he says, breathing hard. It's not hard for them to figure out who that is.

"I'm not like you," Barry replies, panting just as harshly. "You're a murderer."

Mardon doesn't respond, and everyone jumps at the sound of a gunshot. Persephone tightens her grip on the scientist's shoulder, and he winces slightly.

"Barry?" Caitlyn's next call out is more urgent, more anxious.

"I'm okay," he answers her. "It's over."

Caitlyn, Cisco and Persephone break into cheers, while Dr. Wells smiles smugly.

"God, that was terrifying," Persephone mutters, and Cisco jumps out of his chair to face her. The grin on his face could not possibly get any larger.

"That was amazing! He was such a badass!"

"Wasn't he?" her reply is dreamy, but everyone is too elated to comment on it.

"He'll be coming here to return that suit," Wells forewarns the love-stricken woman. "You should go before he gets here."

Her hair falls into chaos as she nods, hugging both Cisco and Caitlyn briefly before heading towards the door. "I'm exhausted anyway…I'll see you guys later?"

The trio waves their goodbyes, and she hurries to her car. Any luck and she'll be able to get some sleep before she has to go in to work tomorrow…

*~*~ToL~*~*

Unfortunately for Persephone, her body has other ideas when she reaches her apartment, and she spends about half an hour tossing and turning in her bed before she gives up and kicks the blankets off her.

Sighing despondently, her feet shuffle their way into her fuzzy bunny slippers – a house-warming gift from Barry – and she makes her way into her kitchen. She might as well start her day early if she's not going to get any sleep.

Half-way through making some omelets and watching the last hour of Adult Swim, she hears a rattling on her door. Pausing her furious mixing of egg yolk, she peers out of her kitchen and to the front door, which is indeed shaking.

Her eyebrows go up. Is someone trying to rob her? Not only did they bother themselves by coming to the top floor first, but they picked the wrong apartment. Grinning to herself, she sets down the bowl and the whisk, and grabs the rolling pin from its place on the wall as she hears her door finally slide open for the intruder.

Turning around, she plans to run in and give them a good whack on the head, but as she charges at them, they turn around and barely have time to grab her arm from doing some serious damage to their cranium.

The caramel-skinned athlete blinks. "Barry?" she says incredulously, not removing her arm from his grasp. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I could say the same to you, psycho!" he exclaims, giving her a once-over. Her mass of curls is braided into two cute pigtails, and underneath her apron she's wearing a short, revealing nightgown.

She flushes, "I couldn't sleep. I was making omelets," she mutters, wrenching her hand from his grasp. She eyes him warily, "Why are you sneaking into my apartment like some stalker?"

Barry chuckles nervously, "You gave me a key, remember? Also…I don't have an apartment anymore. It's hard to pay rent when you're in a coma. They contacted Joe and all my stuff is in storage."

"Oh," she says blankly, then it hits her. "Oh! You need a place to crash! Why didn't you just say so in the first place?" She pulls from away from the doorway and lets it slide closed behind him.

"Because you came at me with a rolling pin, you nutter," he says under his breath as he takes off his sneakers, but she hears him anyway.

"Well, if you would have called like any normal person, I could have been expecting you," she said over the sound of the television, crossing the large living area and re-entering the kitchen.

"Well, I thought you would have been asleep, like _any normal person_ ," he bites back, following her to the kitchen, and smirking when he sees the middle finger she has waiting for him.

"Omelets?" she offers as she turns on her fancy electric stove.

"Sure," he is famished from today's activities, not that he can tell her that.

Even before the coma, it's been awhile since he's been inside his best friend's apartment. It's still an impressive sight, with all the dark leather upholstery, the dark chocolate wood and the steel appliances. He doesn't know how she does it, but she keeps it looking like something out of an IKEA magazine.

There's plenty of pictures of them together, along with several others of her and Iris, her and Joe, and all four of them together. Barry smiles warmly at one of his favorite pictures: he and Persephone sitting back-to-back in a park, both of them holding their Wii 3DS consoles and pushing buttons frantically.

"Come sit," her soft voice pulls him out of memory lane, and he obliges her request, settling at the island where there is a tower of food waiting for him.

"Were you going to eat this all yourself?" he asks incredulously, eyeing her waistline critically.

Noticing his actions, she reaches over and smacks him on his forehead. "No, ass," she replies as she pulls off her apron finally, then walks over to join him. "I just pulled those eggs out and made more for you."

Barry has another smart comment for her, but his throat goes dry as she walks over without the apron hiding her physique anymore. Persephone has never been shy about her body, which is understandable, she has a great body, but after junior year of high school, Barry tried his best to avoid scenarios that would leave him lost for words. Like this one.

The nightgown isn't silk, but it seems to still wrap around her sensually. The vines of ink that decorate her arms and cover her shoulders don't end there, he realizes as he follows their path into the dip in his chest. Quickly trying to avert his eyes, he trails downwards, but that turns out to be a mistake as well. Her hips are pronounced underneath the flimsy fabric, and he swears the gown does almost nothing to protect prying eyes (like yours, his brain helpfully supplies) from her pelvic area. His brain once again scoffs at him, but Barry ignores it.

Not noticing that she is being checked out, Persephone settles on the chair next to Barry and reaches for the pile immediately. "Eat up," she demands, placing some of the omelets on his plate and passing him some cutlery, "they're way better warm."

Barry is wrenched from his thoughts, and flushes deeply. He can't believe he was just checking out his best friend! As he digs in, he watches her from the corner of his eye, grateful she didn't notice what he had been doing. She would have smacked him for sure.

Still though, the meta-human can't help but think as the object of his thoughts automatically pushes her curls from her face, he's not sure how he didn't realize she was so…

 _Gorgeous_ , is the only word his brain can come up with.

Sighing inwardly in frustration, Barry realizes that staying with Persephone for the next few weeks till he finds a new apartment won't be as easy and convenient as he had first thought.

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

 **Aw, poor Barry! All he wants is to be a gentleman and not ogle Persi, but's it's hard to do that when she's so fiinnneee! Also, can you say "eeep!" to sexy, dominant Harrison Wells? Because that's all I wanna do. Just "eep" at him. He's too attractive for his own good. That doesn't mean he IS good though...**

 **Anyway thoughts? Questions? What do you think is gonna happen next? How is Barry going to survive, seeing Persephone walking around half-naked constantly? Review please!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hullo! Just passing through with your weekly dose of Persephone West!**

 **I had a really interesting review from the dark abyssss (which, thank you by the way! I love reviews!) which I wanted to address out in the open with everyone. So they said: You're not focusing enough on Barry. Why don't you give him a darkish character, more ruthless and strong?**

 **My answer here is pretty simple. This isn't Barry's story. He's THE main character, sure, but this is Persephone's story. Aside from slight narrative shifts and point of view changes, everything is in her perspective. Also, I don't see Barry as being dark or ruthless in any sort of way in the first season. He's still very naive and trusting of everyone, and he only starts developing a real angsty side after he discovers who Harrison Wells truly is. I'm not going to change that. I want to stay as true to the story as I can, but of course, with an OC, that means some things will change. Some things meaning events and their results, not people and their characters.**

 **Thanks for all the other reviews and follows and favorites, I love you guys.**

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

After the meal, Barry finds that he can't fall asleep either, and he joins Persephone on her couch, where she is re-reading a dog-eared copy of a book he doesn't recognize. Her long legs are stretched out on the couch, but they are covered by a soft-looking fleece blanket.

The green-eyed meta taps her feet, and obligingly, she scoots her feet forward, giving him space to sit. After he's settled on the other end of the couch, he takes the liberty of grabbing her feet and putting them on his lap, petting them through the soft material.

They sit in silence for a good long while, Persephone reading and Barry watching the television with muted interest. Slowly, sunlight begins to creep into the apartment, although both occupants don't notice.

Barry's haze of tiredness blinks away when a ray of light reflects on the screen, shining brightly into his eyes. He scowls, and shifts, turning to look at the woman next to him. She too is beginning to move as she realizes the sun is up, stretching her arms languidly and setting the book on the coffee table behind her head.

She catches his eye, and grins. "I'm going to go out for a run," she tells him as she stands, letting the blanket fall to the floor. "Wanna come with?"

In truth, she doesn't expect Barry to accept her invitation. In all her years of knowing him, despite him being a very good runner and running often (from bullies, from tardiness), he's never wanted to run recreationally before. When they were younger and lived with Joe, she would invite him out every day for a run, but he would always decline.

To her surprise however, he stands as well, towering over her with his lanky figure. "Why not," he replies, "I've got time to kill."

Persephone falters and stutters, but finds her footing easily enough, heading to her bedroom. Without prompt, Barry follows her, keeping his eyes strictly on her wild hair and _not_ on her attractive backside.

"I think I have a pair of running sweats that will fit you…" she mumbles, rummaging through her drawers and after a moment, giving a small squeal of delight, holding up a pair of rather large Addidas running pants, obviously for men.

With a raised eyebrow, he takes the sweats from her, silently asking why she owns a pair of men's running sweats. With a sly grin, she admits, "I stole them from Tony."

Barry drops the pants in disgust and shock. "I'm _not_ wearing those," he declares, looking absolutely horrified.

Rolling her eyes as she pulls out her own running pants and a sports bra, she turns to him and says, "It's not like we fucked in them! And even if we did…" Barry takes several steps away from the discarded pants like they're poisonous, and Persephone does her best not to laugh hysterically at her best friend. She fails.

"They're clean, you ass!" she finally reveals, picking them up and forcing them into his unwilling hands. "I promise, no 'gross Tony germs' left on these. Will you please put them on while I go change?"

He scowls at her as she saunters into the bathroom, looking too smug for his comfort. He had forgotten how much she enjoyed seeing him squirm in discomfort. Her brown eyes would light up in twisted amusement, watching him sweat and be at a loss for words.

 _"You're cute when you're speechless,"_ she once told him in way of an explanation when he complained about her teasing, only to chuckle when it caused him to sputter some more.

Cute…he would show her _cute_.

*~*~ToL~*~*

Persephone pants harshly as the pair turned the corner, her apartment building (finally!) coming into her field of vision. Barry is ahead of her, setting the pace without even breaking a sweat. He glances over his shoulder, giving her a cocky smirk when he sees her trying to catch to him. She scowls back at him.

"What…in…the…ever-living… _fuck_ ," she pants out when they reached the glass doors, hands on her knees, gasping for breath. Barry made her feel like she was out of shape! She had been happy to let him start out in front of her, figuring that way she had a great view of his ass, and when he tired out, she could easily take over and leave him in the dust. Only to Persephone's surprise, she was the one who almost got left in the dust.

"You're cute when you're breathless," Barry replies smugly, handing her the small white towel she had offered him before they set out.

The curly-haired woman is too breathless to retort, choosing rather to straighten herself up and breeze past him as casually as she could, ignoring his soft laughter as he follows her into the blessedly cool building.

As they wait for one of the elevators to open, Persephone smiles, her features hidden from Barry's sight. She knows what the lightning did to him, she remembers what he was like with Mardon, running to stop him from creating a tornado. Before all this, Barry could barely keep up with her on his good days, but now, she knew she doesn't stand an iota of a chance if he goes as fast as he can.

It makes her giddy, knowing that he is fast, and he is _strong_. She is proud of who she is, even before her physiology changed she has been proud of being – and she hates herself for even thinking this cliché – a strong, independent black woman. She has always been alone on her self-made pedestal, inviting strong partners to the top with her, but they have always fallen short. Her eyes flick towards her best friend, towering over her and powerful without exerting himself.

Heat pools in her. Her love for him has always been cautious, always gentle because he himself is gentle. But even though he still is gentle, he is stronger. He can handle her now. It makes her lust.

*~*~ToL~*~*

"Harder!"

"I'm trying!"

"You're not trying hard enough!"

Persephone, blue and glowing, soundlessly snarls and turns to the demanding scientist behind her. "You fucking do it then!" she screams at him, her arms striking out and sending tendrils of water to his face.

The room is silent. Caitlyn and Cisco, from the other side of the class, both have expressions of shock and disbelief. Dr. Wells is now drenched from head to toe, looking completely like a drowned rat with glasses.

Persephone stares in shock, her arms still extended to the scientist, her lips moving but no sound coming from them.

Harrison sighs, then takes off his glasses. His actions seem to break the speechlessness of the group, and Caitlyn jumps into action, practically screaming into the microphone, "I'll go get some towels!" She runs for the door, hiding her snickers behind her hand.

Cisco is not so subtle in his mirth, laughter evident in his features. Persephone shoots him a withering look, taking a step towards the man. He stops her with a hand, face stony. She stops, sheepish, and apologizes, "I didn't think…I could even do that."

Waving it off, Wells takes the large fluffy towel from Caitlyn, who looks more composed than she did a few moments ago, with a soft thank you. "That was pure emotional action on your part," he tells her; already back into lecture-mode after that catastrophe. "It's easy to use emotions to fuel your abilities, but you have to dig deeper. You have to control what you can do solely on your will and self-control, not how you feel when you wake up."

It's clear the lesson for the day is over as he wheels away, leaving Caitlyn and Cisco behind to monitor her. Still feeling sheepish and embarrassed about her outburst, Persephone rubs a hand on the back of her neck as her skin tone darkens to its natural pigmentation. Her eyes stay blue, oddly enough, which Caitlyn immediately latches on to, guiding her to a seat to have a closer look.

Cisco doesn't stop laughing after Dr. Wells leaves, giving her a pat on the back once he is close enough. "You should have seen it from our end!" he crows. "He looked like he was about to get up from the chair when you let that wave out, he was so frightened."

Scoffing, she jabbed an elbow into his side, interrupting his laughter. "I doubt he was _frightened_." Harrison Wells has never really struck her as the type to be frightened. "Also, that's mean."

"Hey, you didn't see what I saw, you were busy pushing a tidal wave at our boss. Hey, that's a cool name!"

"You're _not_ naming me," was her retort to that as Caitlyn bustled about them, used to their antics by now.

"Oh, it'll grow on you," he replied, waving off her usual scowl with ease.

*~*~ToL~*~*

Iris notices her sister waltz into the café as effortlessly as she does everything else. Several other patrons notice her as well, with her flyaway hair, large sunglasses over her eyes and the colorful tattoos that cover her dark skin.

Persephone wiggles her fingertips at her younger twin as she takes a seat at a table, clearly here just to chat. Iris turns to her manager, who shrugs helplessly, and she beams, taking off her apron.

"Morning beautiful," her sister greets as she takes a seat opposite her, small smile playing on her lips.

"Hi Persi," Iris replies, grinning at her. "What's up?"

She gives her a nonchalant shrug, peering at her from above her designer glasses. "Have I have ever needed a reason to see my baby sister?"

"By 5 minutes," the waitress grumbles good-naturedly.

"Technicalities," Persephone waves a hand at her. "I just dropped Barry off at his work, and I work a late shift today, so I had time to kill."

At the mention of Barry, Iris' lips tilt downwards, obviously displeased with the man currently. The older West quirks an eyebrow at her in question.

"It's just," Iris sighs and starts playing with one of her loose curls. "Everything has been so different since he woke up! It's like something's happened, and changed him, and he won't talk to me about it." Her frown turns into a pout, and she mumbles, "He talks to me about everything."

Persephone inwardly winces. She has been so caught up in this whole "meta-human" thing that she's forgotten her twin and how intuitive she is. She's lucky that currently all her energy is focused on how strangely Barry has been acting, or she would be in the hot seat.

"I think he's just readjusting to everything," she reassures her sister, taking her hand. "Plus you know him and dad, they've been butting heads again –" At this, Iris nods, obviously in the know of the two men of the West household being t each other's throats once again "- and I think it's just putting him in a crappy mood. Give him some time to settle back in and get back on his feet."

"How are you always so good at boy-reading," Iris says incredulously, making her sister choke on her coffee. "No, I'm totally serious! Even when we were teenagers, you just _knew_ what weird shit was going on in Barry's mind."

"M-must just be an innate skill, I suppose," Persephone replies, chuckling as Iris' pout just grows larger.

"Besides, you seem to be doing just fine with 'boy-reading', if Detective Pretty Boy is anything to go by," Persi teases, watching delightedly as Iris sighs dreamily.

"Yeah, he's such a catch, isn't he?" the younger sister asks, her eyes faraway.

"Aw, so cute. It's almost puke-worthy," her twin says, and Iris reaches over to smack her on the shoulder, laughing as she does.

"Speaking of catches," Iris sips her macchiato slyly, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "When are _you_ getting back on the dating horse? It's been months since you got out of your coma, and even more still since you and Tony broke up before this happened…"

Persephone cringes at the mention of her most recent ex, Tony Woodward. He was the culmination of her "bad-boy" and "bad decisions" phase. Joe was _livid_ when she brought him home one night, seeing as he knew him, and Tony knew the back of her father's police car intimately. Barry had not been any better, from what she recalled.

 _"Woodward?" he says, his voice quiet and disappointed._

 _Persephone, not as inked, and with straight hair, doesn't reply, just crossing her arms in defiance as Barry blocks her from entering the house._

 _"Do you not remember who he is? God Persephone, he bullied me! He made passes at every girl, **especially** Iris! Did you forget all that?"_

 _"I didn't forget," she thinks viciously, relishing in his anguished face. "I just want you to know how it feels."_

 _Outwardly, she remains silent, resolute in her stance, and Barry sighs in defeat, running a hand over his face and moving out of her way._

"Ugh, I was trying to drown out everything about Tony the Terrible,' she groans, pressing her head to the cool table.

Iris laughs, "Oh no, you'll never be able to. I will _never_ let you forget that you brought Tony into our house. I thought dad was going to throw both of you out, he was so furious."

The girls laugh at the memory for a moment. Persephone smirks and lifts her head, scooting closer and whispering conspiratorially to Iris, "Well, I can at least say…bad boys are definitely better in the sack."

"You slut!" her sister exclaims, eyes wide and cheeks flushed, and Persephone once again falls into peals of laughter.

*~*~ToL~*~*

In the secret room hidden in S.T.A.R. Labs, Harrison Wells stands up from his wheelchair, pacing anxiously. He had been so, _so_ close to revealing himself today, with Persephone's emotional attack on him.

It brings back memories buried far down, seeing her at her prime, calling forth tidal waves of mass destruction without ever breaking a sweat. Back when she was practically a goddess, rivaling Diana Prince in worshippers and adoring fans; back when he would have never believed that he would even be able to _touch_ her glowing skin.

And she found him in the crowd, young, brimming with Speed Force with no outlet, twitchy and adoring and _she_ was touching _him_.

 _"You're like him,"_ she knew immediately, blue, blue eyes piercing through him and it took all of his willpower to _keep still_.

She smiled as if she knew how much he was struggling, tendrils of hair floating above her serenely. _"What is your name, speedster?"_

 _"Eobard."_

 _"Eobard. Would you like to come with me?"_

He took her hand without a second thought.

In the present, Harrison runs a wearied hand over his face. He cannot lose sight of his goal, his entire reason for being here. Persephone, no matter how important she is to him, will have to take a back-seat for now.

Once Barry Allen is out of the way, he can have Persephone all to himself, just the way it used to be.

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

 **Some background on why Harrison is so interested in our Persi. Also, insight on Persephone's dating past, which seems pretty colorful, huh? I couldn't help it, Tony is a hottie. Iris was just too snobby to go for him, but our Persi doesn't mind getting down and dirty, does she?**

 **Thoughts? Questions? Ideas? I wanna hear it all! Reviews please! They make me happy ^-^**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hi guys! How's the weekend treating ya? Persephone's been running through my mind like a crazy person, so I'm just throwing this out here now so she can settle down for a day or two.**

 **Thanks so much for all the follows and the favorites and the reviews! We're almost at 50 favorites, holy cow! You guys rock. Special shout out to AmyRoxx123 and Guess for leaving reviews, I love you.**

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

"These contacts are really irritating! Please tell me you know what is going on?" Persephone rubs her eyes aggressively, ignoring Caitlyn's scolding hiss to quit her actions.

"I've been trying every single experiment I can with the cells I have," Caitlyn tells Persephone, handing her contact solution to put her displaced contacts into.

As she looks up from the table, Caitlyn is struck with how bizarre, but striking of an image Persephone makes. Her eyes are an incandescent blue, even more memorable than Dr. Wells' own eyes, and her caramel-highlighted hair is left to do as it pleases, so it covers her head like some sort of New-Age halo.

"And?" Persephone presses, clearly bothered by the change to her eye color.

"Well, what I noticed was that the more your cells stayed in their aqueous form for longer and longer, it's harder for them to return to their natural state. It's like the more you change and the longer you stay changed, the more your body struggles to return back to your regular form," she explains to her.

"What, are you kidding?" she cries, looking frustrated. "You're telling me the more I keep training and turning, the more likely I'll be stuck like that?"

The bioengineer is apologetic, "It looks that way."

"There has to be something you can do," she says, a scowl on her tan features. "There has to be a way to stop me from just staying blue."

"I'm looking into it for you, I promise," Caitlyn reaches over and takes Persephone's hand. Over the months, they have become close friends, and the bioengineer knows how to keep the hot-headed West calm – _mostly_. From the few interactions she has had with the rest of the family, she knows the Persephone is the most hot-headed of the three (four if you count Barry), and although Joe is a can get spectacularly angry, especially at his adopted son, his eldest daughter can do the most damage with her words and actions when she gets in the mood.

"I know you are," is the reply she receives, and Caitlyn breathes a small sigh of relief. "I just…don't like it."

Persephone glances back down to the mirror on the table. Her glowing blue eyes stare back at her, and it takes patience and her remembering her meditations lessons with Dr. Wells to not return to scowling.

The blue is too noticeable, too vibrant against her caramel skin. Without a doubt, people will ask questions, unless she puts up with those god-awful contacts. To make matters worse, according to Caitlyn, it's just going to get worse from there on, and she is going to be struggling from going bronze to blue again.

This super-power is more trouble than it's worth, Persephone can't help but think in this moment.

*~*~ToL~*~*

In the end, Persephone gives up on the idea of wearing the brown contacts, because they irritate the crap out of her, but Wells also warns her that they may damage her retinas if she keeps them on before transforming. She is awfully put out by the vivid blue, but goes to work anyway, ready for a day of questions and unwanted attention. To her surprise, not to many people comment, although Kelsey spends a good ten minutes squealing about how cute the "new contacts" make her look. With practiced ease, Persephone tunes out the petite blonde.

That night, Barry walks in, looking positively exhausted, and she has a veritable feast waiting for him – Caitlyn has been relaying to her via text about his fight with a guy who could literally turn into _poison gas_ – with all his favorites, and he immediately rushes into the dining room, salivating.

He is halfway through his meal before he even really notices her (poor thing, she thinks, content to sit across from him and watch him devour everything at insanely human speeds), and he whiplashes from the sweet corn casserole back to her face.

She blinks at his intense gaze, shrinking back in her seat as he looks at her incredulously. "What?" she asks defensively. "I didn't do anything to the food, I promise!"

"Your…your eyes," he answers. "They are…" he trails off, a slight question in his tone.

 _Shit,_ Persephone thinks. To be honest, it hasn't crossed her mind to even think of an excuse for Barry. She has been happy to let people come up with whatever theories they would like to believe, just giving them small shrugs and smiles when they ask for confirmation.

"A-ah, right. It's…well, it's a funny story," she chuckles nervously. "Well…when I got hit by the lightning, something happened to me."

*~*~ToL~*~*

"You did _what_?" Harrison Wells looks like he is about to have an apoplectic fit.

Persephone blanches. "Well, I had to tell him something!" she defends herself, ignoring Cisco's snickers of laughter behind her. "And it's not like I told him 'Oh hey, guess what, I've got super-powers!' All I said was the lightning did something to my eyes."

Caitlyn, torn between amusement and disapproval, says to her, "Yes, but you understand, he is going to come barging in here, asking questions about if the particle accelerator can alter people _only slightly_ , like it apparently did for you. Matter of fact, I'll be surprised if he doesn't drag you here for some kind of check-up."

The woman groans in response, suddenly wanting nothing more to crawl into a bed. Dr. Wells doesn't look like he is going to calm down any time soon, and she honestly isn't in the mood to deal with a lecture. "I was tired, okay," she tells him, "I didn't know what to say."

His lips twitch, as if he is holding himself back from saying something, but the man just sighs and gestures with his hand that he wants her to follow him. Persephone quickly falls in line behind him, but shoots Cisco a middle finger before they exist the room, to Dr. Wells' disproval, if the tightening of his lips is any indication.

"I am unhappy," he begins as they enter the elevators, "that you exposed yourself so carelessly. By admitting that you were – even if it was only slightly – affected by the particle accelerator, he will be sure to keep a closer eye on you to make sure that nothing else happened to you."

A thrill shoots through Persephone at the thought of Barry watching her closely, even if it's just because of his concern. "So?" she replies calmly, "I've been calm this whole time he's been living with me –" Harrison twitches in irritation, but she fails to notice that "- and I'll make sure I'm even more careful now. He won't find out anything."

"…I didn't realize the two of you were living together," the scientist says slowly, carefully.

"Hm?" She is distracted as she fills up a plate with food from their hardly used cafeteria for Wells. "Yeah, he's been crashing at mine since he woke up. His landlord kicked him out, and he's saving up enough money to get a new place. He might actually want to move into my building, he's in love with it…" she trails off thoughtfully.

She is still in deep thought when they reenter the elevator, so when Dr. Wells pushes the button to the lower levels, she doesn't notice. She does notice, however, when they reach the short hallway to the steel doors.

Her steps falter, and she looks down inquiringly. "Is that…?"

Wells shoots her a small smirk, his eyes flashing with an emotion she can't identify. "The famed particle accelerator? It is."

Persephone is awed as she steps out of the elevator. Wells wheels ahead of her, tapping a code on the keypad and with a whoosh of pressurized air, the doors open.

"Whoa," she breathes, leaning over the wheelchair to take a good look at the expanse of the accelerator. "It's brilliant, Dr. Wells."

He tries his best not to look pleased. He fails, but she doesn't notice. "Yes, well, it would have been more brilliant if it had worked the way it was supposed to."

The woman glances down at him, her bronze cheeks pinking furiously. "I'm sorry Dr. Wells!" she exclaims, feeling rather stupid in that moment. "I just – I just meant you're brilliant. Like – well, _I_ couldn't have done this! Even if it failed, you created something incredible –"

It is a testament to how long they have been working together that Persephone allows herself to even feel flustered around the man she used to be so strongly weirded out by. Once in a while, she still feels _strange_ while around the man, but to be honest, she can't tell if it's her overly-cautious paranoia or just a budding attraction. To be honest, she would rather not think on it, so she doesn't.

Her lips turn into a frown when she notices who and what they are looking at now. The criminal that had been sentenced to death before the particle accelerator, the man that could turn into a poisonous gas, glared at both of them hatefully.

Dr. Wells doesn't have to look up at her to notice the change in her mood. "You still disapprove," he murmurs, taking the tray of pizza and a bottle of water and sliding it to the man's cage.

"Of course I disapprove," her eyes flashing dangerously, as she watched tensely as a small slot opened up, and the man grabbed greedily at the tray. "Since when has this been a place to detain criminals? What right do you have to keep people – no matter who they are and what they've done – against their right?"

When she first heard of them using the particle accelerator as a prison for meta-humans they caught, she rounded on Harrison, furious that they were essentially using Barry as a tool to capture and kidnap criminals that needed to be turned in to the law.

"You keep telling us that we need to turn him into the law enforcement, but you aren't thinking about this clearly," the man sounds exasperated at this point. "But how will they contain him? Giving him a cell in Iron Heights will most likely just lead to the death of countless guards and a mass break out."

"Then we give them what we have," she gestures wildly to the particle accelerator. "We tell them how to build a place that can hold these guys as well as this can. Either way, this is _kidnapping_ , Wells. You don't think some of the people we bring in will have families that give a crap about them? We _can't_ just keep them."

The scientist sighs heavily, taking off his glasses. "How long do you think it will take Central City to build a place like the accelerator before they are actually equipped to take people like him in? How much money do you think it'll take, with the economy already being as unstable as it is? Central City has barely managed to get back on its feet after the explosion, and you want to drop _this_ on their heads in addition to it?"

"It's not right," Persephone says, but her words not as strong as they previously were. Harrison knows she understands what he is trying to say, even if she still doesn't agree. "We aren't the law."

This almost makes Harrison laugh. It is ironic that she is denying the fact that capturing the meta-humans and keeping them here at S.T.A.R Labs is the best solution, because in the future, she is one of the leading pioneers of the creation of the MHCC – the meta-human code of conduct – as well as one of the enforcers. She may not be the law now, but she will be.

"The law isn't ready for this, Persephone," he says slowly. "And just like it was centuries ago, when new laws had to be created for the New Land, we are in a position that requires new rules, new enforcers, and new standards. Right now, we are the only ones that can do anything about it, and that makes us the law, no matter how inhumane it may seem. As long as they aren't on the streets, killing and hurting others, we are doing the right thing."

It is easy to see that Persephone is torn. She looks way from Harrison's gaze, much to his disappointment, and looks at the criminal in front of them. He stares back at her, his beady, watery eyes glaring hatefully at the two.

Persephone shudders. He is right, she realizes. If this psychopath wasn't here right now, that means he would be after her father. Joe West, strong, talented, and so very _human_ could do absolutely nothing against this monster.

Exhaling harshly, the meta-human presses a button, and watches as his cage slides away, the steel doors clamping shut. Harrison smiles, pleased, and turns to return upstairs to Cisco and Caitlyn. Without a word, Persephone follows him.

Joe is safe because this man was being kept prisoner here. It has to stay that way.

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

 **So, I'll be honest. This chapter is WAY shorter than I wanted it to be, and that's because the next two episodes in the season are pivotal to Barry and Persephone, but it's too much to cram into one chapter. And I'm sorry! I know most of you wouldn't mind an extra long chapter, but it isn't ready, and I want it to be as perfect as I can for you guys. so enjoy this short chapter, and next week, we'll be seeing some familiar faces: Felicity Smoak, Leonard Smoak AND Tony Woodward! It's gonna be epic, I can hardly wait to get the chapter to you guys.**

 **Reviews make me happy! ^-^**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hi everyone! I hope I haven't kept you all waiting for too long. I had to cut it short again (no Tony just yet, sorry!) but I really liked where I left it this time, and I'm hoping that you guys like it too!**

 **A big thank you to everyone that hit the favorite and the follow buttons! We're almost at 50 favs and we hit that 70 follows benchmark! I can't believe so many people enjoy my writing. Of course, even an even bigger thank you to my reviewers, your feedback is what keeps me going!**

 **WARNING: It's not very detailed, but there is some mature stuff that happens in this chapter. Just a heads up!**

 ***~*~ToL~*~***

The rest of the week goes by smoothly – or as smoothly as Persephone can imagine it does for her. Training takes up most of her time, although she still manages to sneak in time for dinner with Barry, and phone calls with her younger sister and her father.

She has gotten better at controlling her emotions – meditation comes to her easier now than when Dr. Wells first told her to. She used to be a maelstrom of anger, jealousy, possessiveness…she still is, if she has to be honest with herself. But with Dr. Wells' help, she doesn't feel as destructive. She understands what she has the power to do, with her aqua-blue hands – she understands that if she lets her emotions lead her, she will hurt everyone she cares about.

She needs to be a calm river, rather than a raging waterfall. It's a work in progress, but she's getting there.

Her phone beeps – a text from someone from S.T.A.R. Labs – and she eagerly picks it up, wondering what is on the agenda today.

 _Don't come in today_ , Caitlyn's message reads. Persephone's wide smile turns downwards as she keeps reading. _Barry brought a friend that knows his secret over – Felicity Smoak_.

She recognizes that name. How can she not? She remembers when Barry visited Starling City, and came back practically obsessed with the genius. Felicity this, and Felicity that…Persephone remembered snapping at him, "If you like her so much, why don't you move over there and settle down with her? Then both of you can have adorable geek babies together."

The blushing, stammering Barry was too cute to handle, so she immediately apologized. Barry didn't bring up Felicity around her anymore. And what a good riddance that was.

Except…well, she was back. And _Barry told her_. Barry told Felicity Smoak, a woman he had seen ninety-five percent less than her. And she knew what Barry was. What he could do. Before his _best friend_ knew.

Persephone thought her heart would burst from the pain she felt. It was indescribable – knowing that the man you would do _anything_ for, who she was willing to give up her world for – hell, he _was_ her world.

And he would rather tell some _outsider_ than tell her. She can feel her emotions rising up inside her, the anger pounding inside her head, her heart racing furiously – _stop_.

 _Breathe in, Persephone_. Harrison's voice is strong in her head, and it immediately calms down. _Breathe out. Good. Keep your mind clear. Think objectively first. Do not let your anger ever control your mind._

The thundering in her mind quiets down to a low hum. She has unconsciously turned into her aqueous form, ripples shifting smoothly through her skin as her heart beats softly.

She will stay out of the way, like Caitlyn asks of her. She will stay in the shadows like she has been asked to. For now.

*~*~ToL~*~*

Persephone goes about her day as per normal. She has the day off from Fitness today, so she takes the time to clean her apartment a bit – Barry is a messy free-loader – and then heads out to buy groceries.

It is during her shopping trip that she feels her phone vibrate once again – it's Iris this time, probably on lunch break checking in on her.

Bringing the phone up to her ear, she greets her twin. "Hey sis," she says, and Iris responds in kind, her voice filled with excitement.

"Persi! Oh my god, you won't _believe_ who I just met when I went over to CCPD to see Eddie, ran into Barry and there was this _adorable_ nerd girl there waiting for him. Her name was –"

"Felicity, yes, I know," the elder sister sighs. It seems even her twin is going to torture her with this information.

"Have you _seen_ them together? The sparks, it's amazing. They are so perfect for each other, and Barry keeps denying it! I really can't understand why he won't ask her out –" at this, Persephone scoffs, unable to keep it to herself, and her younger sister latches on to that immediately. "What? What do you know, Persephone? Why won't he ask her out?"

"Because," she sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration, "Iris, Barry is stubborn, alright? He's got his mind set on the way things are supposed to be, and Felicity isn't part of that plan."

"Okay, fair enough," the waitress concedes, and Persephone can envision her eyebrows furrowing just like hers do as she thinks deeper about it. "But if she isn't a part of that picture perfect plan he has, who is?"

 _You are,_ her brain easily answers, but the meta-human just remains silent, much to Iris' frustration.

"Well, either way! I just have to show Barry how compatible they are. There's a trivia night at Jitters today, we'll just have a double date –"

"Iris," Persephone finds herself sighing again, trying to hold back all her anger and frustration from blowing up at her sister. "Sweetie, that's not a good idea…"

"You and Barry are way too similar," she can picture her twin rolling her eyes good-naturedly. "Both way too cautious about who each other can date – if I didn't know any better, I'd say the two of you are a jealous pair who can't admit that you like each other."

She scoffs as she begins to place her items on the conveyor belt. If a few extra pints of ice-cream and chocolate have found their way into her cart, she doesn't exactly notice. The cashier, a lanky teenager, eyes her tattoos with interest and his eyes linger on the color of her eyes, but he doesn't comment. Persephone focuses on Iris' continued rant on the end of her line.

"…but I will text you updates, including pictures, and I'll give you a heads up if the night is successful, if you know what I mean!"

"Yes, please do. That's exactly how I want to spend the rest of my day," she replies dutifully. The lanky teen's lips quirk into half a smile, and she responds with a grin of her own, laughing to herself when he immediately blushes.

Iris goes on for a few more seconds, then promptly says goodbye when she is called back to work, and Persephone gratefully tucks away her phone into her back pocket, focusing on the sale in front of her.

"Best friend?" the cashier asks, clearing striking up the nerve to talk to her. She smirks a little, handing him her card. "Younger sister. She's setting up a date for our best friend."

He nods sagely, as if he knows exactly the position she's in. "Well, if you're feeling left out, you should treat yourself. Ice-cream is only a temporary solution." His head jerks to the bag filled with Ben and Jerry's.

Persephone chuckles as she takes hold of her bags and turns to leave. "Thanks kid. That just might be what I wanted to hear."

*~*~ToL~*~*

Persephone calls Kelsey as soon as she makes it home, and like the brilliant friend she is, the blonde is at her apartment door in record time, chocolate in one hand and wine in the other. Behind her stands Alex, holding a two large boxes of pizza.

Grinning, Persephone lets them in, graciously accepting the boxes from Alex as the tall Russian bends to remove her boots.

"Okay, so I've got this all planned out," Kelsey begins as soon as she is through the door, setting the two bottles of wine on the center table, turning to the caramel-skinned woman with her hands on her hips. "We are indulging you and your introvert whims for half an hour –"

"An hour, max," Alex adds, making herself comfortable in the couch.

" _Max!_ And then we're going shopping. All the shopping you can possibly handle. And then we're going bar hopping –"

"She's hoping we can find you a cute guy to make you forget the other one," the taller blonde adds helpfully to an amused Persephone.

"Stop interrupting, _Aleksndra_!" Kelsey snaps, although she finally sits, happy to take the slice of pepperoni pizza that Persephone offers to her. "Also, I'll have you know, I was _thoroughly_ scandalized when you asked for double cheese. Can you imagine the amount of sit ups requires to remove that?"

"Do you even gain weight, Kels?" Alex snarks back, happy to poke the smaller blonde in the side, sending her to the floor in a fit of squeals. "You're all skin and bones."

"I'm the sexiest skin-and-bones blonde you'll find on this side of the world," she declares imperiously, sending her two co-workers and friends into a set of giggles.

For the first time that day, the roaring in her head has calmed down – Persephone feels like her old self again.

*~*~ToL~*~*

"Okay, what about this look? Am I screaming _'I haven't had sex in nearly a year, and I'm desperate'_ or _'Would you like a closer look to what this flimsy dress doesn't cover up?'_ "

Persephone holds a rather promiscuous dress up to her chest, smoothing it out to her body and does a little shimmy, making the small beads on the dress sway enticingly.

"Is it possible to look desperate and teasing at the same time? Because that dress pulls it off wonderfully," Alex deadpans, and the curly-haired woman laughs.

"So that's a no then," she decides, putting it back where she found it, although her hands graze it wistfully as she pulls away.

"That doesn't mean don't get it if you don't want it," Alex comments when she sees the way her fingers linger on it.

"Oh!" Pulling her hand away from the hanger, Persephone emphatically shakes her head. "No, it's not that. It's just…it describes me perfectly right now. I mean –" she wildly gestures to herself then back to the dress, "I'm completely desperate right now for someone's attention that I know I'm never going to get, and I'm trying to hide that desperation with lots of other flashy things that really don't mean shit when you take them off. I'm just a big fake."

"Okay honey, no more philosophical outbursts while we're trying to find you something cute to wear to the club tonight, okay?" Kelsey takes her shoulders and pushes her away from the hanging clothes, sharing a quick look with her fellow blonde that Persephone doesn't notice.

"Here, try this one," the small woman practically shoves an outfit into her hands, pushing her into one of the fitting rooms. "You will look absolutely adorable with that one."

Mechanically, Persephone tries it on, trying not to sink into another bout of jealous-filled angst. Using her hands to pull her hair from the clasp of the dress, she does a small twirl in the mirror and smiles confidently at her reflection.

The dress does look absolutely adorable on her, like Kelsey said it would. It's a little black number that sticks to her like a second skin, showing off her curves attractively. The back is done up in a large cross design, showing just enough skin to be teasing, but covers enough to still be slightly conservative.

Kelsey knocks at the door, "Well? Don't leave us out here in suspense!"

Persephone obliges, and Kelsey gives her a little squeal as she walks out of the fitting room.

"It looks _amazing!_ You look amazing!" she says, practically jumping in her shoes.

"I know…it's really pretty," she murmurs, looking down at the dress and smoothing it down some more.

"I sense an incoming 'but'," Alex says, her arms crossed as she leans against the wall adjacent to the fitting rooms.

"It's so nice! It's obviously a _'I want to impress someone'_ outfit, and I don't have anyone I'm trying to impress," she says sadly, reaching over her shoulder to unzip herself.

"Don't be stupid, Persi," Kelsey admonishes, immediately coming over to help her unzip from the dress. "Just because Mr. Cute-Nerd is blind to what's in front of him doesn't mean the rest of the world is. You are getting this dress or so help me I'm going to scream."

"God knows we wouldn't want that," the tallest of the trio mutters, and Persephone snickers as Kelsey promptly whacks Alex over the head with her handbag.

*~*~ToL~*~*

Persephone is going through the checkout line alone – Kelsey dragged Alex away to the food court, promising to save her a seat – when she sees her.

The blonde is standing at the end of the line, her hands clasping her own shopping bag, and her blue eyes staring straight right at – the auburn-haired woman glances behind her to make sure – her. Persephone has half a mind to pretend she doesn't see the stranger blatantly staring her down, but the blonde is blocking her only exit, so she has no option but to confront her.

The woman seems to get even more excited the closer she gets to her, and by the time she is finally being handed her receipt, she is bouncing in her sensible heels. Sighing to herself, she walks up to the woman, who has a wide grin on her features. She stops a few feet away from her, taking in her appearance.

The blonde is very attractive, without a doubt. She is small with delicate features, like Kelsey, but the square-rimmed glasses and the soft way she carries herself makes her out to be nothing like her athletic friend.

"Do I…know you?" Persephone asks when it is clear that the blonde is happy to just keep staring at her. It is honestly beginning to freak her out.

"Oh my god!" she exclaims, slapping the palm of her hand to her forehead, then looking back at her, "I'm sorry, I'm just so excited to meet you that I went into awkward mode –"

The blonde babbles like a nerd too. Persephone has a sinking feeling in her gut…

"I'm Felicity Smoak! I'm in town visiting Barry Allen, and I figured I would run into you eventually, but I didn't think it would be here of all places!" she introduces herself, holding out her hand.

Persephone resists the urge to groan. Of course, her awful luck just has her meeting the indirect cause of her angst-filled day in a bizarre turn of events. With said cause apparently knowing exactly who she is, even though they have never been introduced before.

"Yes, lovely to meet you," she replies as she takes the offered hand and shakes it. "I heard you were in town, but how did you know who I was?"

A small blush falls on Felicity's cheeks. "Well, I met your sister earlier today! Even with the different hair, and the tattoos, you guys are practically mirror images."

"Well, that's what identical twins are," she says, a small smirk playing on her lips. "Identical."

Felicity laughs, Persephone can't help but laugh with her. "That's true! But considering I knew more about you than her, I would have been easily able to identify you in a crowd even before we met."

Persephone raises an eyebrow at that. 'Does Barry mention me that often?"

The blonde looks uncomfortable. "Er…well yes, but that's not what I meant. It's more like –" she looks around them surreptitiously, searching for eavesdroppers, and leans in closer to whisper, "I know what you are."

Persephone's blood runs cold. Heart pounding, she pulls Felicity aside, away from the open entrance of the clothing store and into a corner of the mall. "Explain," she orders, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Felicity swallows, "It wasn't intentional!" she confesses. "When I heard about Barry's coma, I found out that he was being kept in S.T.A.R Labs, so I hacked their satellite to check up on him – I did it once every couple of months, and nothing changed. Then a few months ago, you were there and I saw –" she looks around again, although they are clearly isolated. "I _saw_ what you could do, it was incredible! Why are you keeping that a secret from Barry?"

The meta-human frowns at her, "So…you were _spying_ on private premises, saw something that obviously was not meant for you to see, and you have the nerve to ask me why I'm keeping _my business_ a secret?"

The hacker blinks, not expecting her to be hostile. "Well," she responds, licking her lips anxiously. "I just mean…you obviously know what happened to Barry. I think he would feel so relieved if he knew that someone he personally knew understood exactly what was happening to him, y'know? And like I said, I wasn't trying to spy on purpose! I just wanted to check in on Barry –"

"So you check in on him the way the rest of us did – by either visiting him or calling. You have no right to even know about what I can do, let alone _confront_ me about my secret. If you had sort of decency, you would have kept it to yourself, rather than budging your nose where it doesn't belong."

Felicity looks upset, but Persephone can't bring herself to care. Ever since she woke up from the coma and found out about her powers, everything – every single choice – she has done has been for Barry. For his safety, for his protection. For his happiness. And now someone – a practical stranger! – stands in front of her, telling her how to make Barry happy.

"I'm just saying," the blonde says quietly, finally understanding that her words are not welcome here. "That maybe – maybe if you told him, things would be a little easier. That he wouldn't feel like he has to save the entire city by himself. He'll know he has you to lean on."

Her words strike a chord deep in Persephone, but she refuses to acknowledge them. "I would like to say it was nice meeting you, but frankly, it's been the opposite," she ends their conversation, shifting her bags into her left hand and turning away from Felicity. "I hope you enjoy your time in Central City."

She walks away, leaving the distraught blonde behind without a second thought.

*~*~ToL~*~*

The meta-human enters the food-court, ready to annihilate anyone else that crosses her path. She spends a few minutes searching for her friends but she cannot make out where they could possibly be in the throngs of heads that fill the large room.

Giving up, she sits herself at a smoothie bar, snappishly ordering a mango-pineapple concoction with extra tapioca, sighing in relief when the service is prompt and the tiny Asian server is too terrified by her fierce scowl to ask if she wants anything else.

The smoothie is heavenly. Persephone sighs in pleasure as she takes a long sip of her drink. Her body, unknowingly tense from the confrontation with Felicity, loosens up considerably. Reaching for her purse, she begins to rummage for her phone so she can call Kelsey or Alex and find out where they are.

"You look like you need something a lot stronger than a smoothie to make your day better," a smooth voice comments from beside her. She glances to her right – and promptly puts her phone away. The girls can wait.

The man who addresses her is drop dead gorgeous, and he knows it. His hair is in a buzz-cut, possibly military? He is dressed like a model off a GQ magazine, the suit and tie coupled with the long jacket doing wonders for what looked like a very, _very_ nice body underneath all those layers.

What really gets Persephone though, is his small smirk. It is just a quirk of his lips upwards, but she feels that he knows the effect that quirk has on women. Namely her. She isn't complaining though.

"I've had a very long, emotional rollercoaster of a day," she confesses to him, turning slightly in her barstool so she is angled closer to him.

The smirk grows minutely. "Sounds just like the day I've been having. I just had to fire my minions because they got…imcompetent."

Persephone can't help but laugh. "Minions? Wow, am I talking to some big-shot CFO right now?"

Tall-and-sexy chuckles. It is liquid fire that goes from her ear drums to core. "Nothing that crazy. We all worked with each other, equal benefits and equal pay, but it was obvious who was the smartest –" here, he gestures to himself, "- who was the most charismatic, and who was meant t be the leader. So yes, they were most certainly my minions."

She falls into peals of laughter again. "You certainly are cocky, Mr. Smart-and-Charismatic. But how are you going to get any work done without any minions to help you?"

"I have my ways," he says lowly, and it sounds like a dark promise of things to come. "Would you like to find out about some of them?"

Persephone can barely text Kelsey to not come looking for her before she is pulling the man out of the mall with her.

*~*~ToL~*~*

Persephone barely closes the door of her apartment before the man - she still doesn't know his name! – is on her lips. His hands make their way down from her shoulders to her waist, gripping her tightly as he melds their bodies closer together.

She is just as frantic, pushing the coat off his broad shoulders – she was right, he is built like someone off a sports magazine – and reaching for his belt.

He pushes her hands away, chuckling into her ear as his tongue flicks over her earlobe. "Calm down cutie. We have a long time to get to know each other," he breathes, laughing some more when she shudders in his hands.

"Mmm.." she moans, tearing herself from his amazing jawline. "Come on, my bedroom's this way." Grabbing his tie, she pulls him away from the front door, kicking his coat away while giving him an apologetic kiss.

The rest of their clothes follow on the way to her room, and once they are in, they are left in only their underwear. They stare each other down, both of their chests heaving in arousal and excitement.

"God," he breathes, reaching out for her and pulling her body into his. His hands clasp her bottom possessively. "You're even more beautiful without your clothes on."

Persephone can't stop herself from blushing, but pushes him on to the bed without responding, sinking to her knees in front of him. "So Mr. CFO," she says seductively, her hands teasingly running up and down his thighs. "Do you need a minion to take care of your…needs?"

He genuinely laughs for a moment, then reaches down for her, pulling her up to sit in his lap. "We'll save the roleplay for later darling. Right now, I just want to do naughty things to your beautiful body."

With that he flips her over, hovering over her for a moment, before he begins to kiss his way down to her center. He pays special attention to her nipples, urging on sighs and moans of pleasure from her. With his teeth, he pulls down her panties, then proceeds to lick his way back up her toned body.

"W-wait," Persephone breathes, her chest heaving. She is leaning on her elbow, gazing down at him with dilated dark blue eyes. "I don't even know your name!"

The infuriatingly sexy smirk is back. "Call me Len," he says.

Then he dives in.

*~*~ToL~*~*

 **Phew! I'm hot! Is it hot? Is it just me? Oh. My. God. Len is so sexy, I feel like writing him in the most innocent of situations needs a warning. What a hunk. Anyway~~~**

 **How did you guys like that? No Barry, but don't worry, he'll be back next chapter, but Len will still be around O.O and also Tony! He's pacing around in my head, anxious to make his big debut. We're getting closer and closer to Persi's big reveal! I'm not going to say much more about that topic though, I don't want to ruin the surprise for you all.**

 **Please leave a review and tell me how I did! They feed my soul~~**


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